New NCLB Reporting Requirements

UPDATE 05/20/2008: The Superintendent's Cabinet decided to wait until the 2008-2009 school year to complete the required 8th Grade Technology Literacy assessment. More information will be shared at that time.

UPDATE 05/30/2008: Letter released from TEA that outlines requirements.

The Texas Education Agency presented the new reporting requirement of November, 2008 for the first time in Austin on Friday, May 9, 2008. Three requirements outlined by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will be reported on in November, 2008. These three requirements include conducting an assessment of...

1. Technology literacy for eighth grade students
2. Technology literacy for teachers, librarians and administrators; and
3. The number of computers available to students for instruction by Internet access type.

Since December, 2006, eighth graders have had to meet Technology Applications:TEKS graduation requirements. Data is required, auditable, must have supporting documentation and failure to provide it may negatively impact future funding per the Texas Education Agency and No Child Left Behind.

Out of 21 campuses that serve 8th graders, 10 MS/Academies do offer a Technology Applications course and 11 DO NOT. Of the eleven who do not, two stated that they were hoping to offer one next year. Schools are hard-pressed to find funding for a Technology Applications:TEKS Teacher, budget for the cost of an up to date computer lab, and make it happen. Schools that can may avail themselves of Instructional Technology Services' workshop and support.

The curriculum audit completed earlier this year (2008) reflects a lack of technology applications integration into core content instructions, even though it is required and the electronic textbook has been long available. This highlights a profound need for SAISD schools, students and teachers to ratchet up their support.

For schools, this means increased technology access (remember, 41% of our schools have obsolete technology and the computer to student ratio is as high as 1:12 at some campuses). For students, it means more learning opportunities that require technology as an integral part of success. For teachers, it means meeting the SBEC Technology Standards for All Educators.

8TH GRADE ASSESSMENT
It is urgent that we collect data for Requirement #1--the 8th grade assessment of technology literacy--prior to the end of the 2007–2008 school year. In one word, NOW.

I'm presenting a plan later today to Marcos Zorola, Assistant Superintendent, as to the best way to collect this data in the 2 weeks that remain to us this year. While this will undoubtedly put a strain on campuses, it is far better to accomplish the data collection now rather than wait to the new year and try to either assess a fresh crop of 8th graders or 9th graders.

The options include the following:

• Option #1: Learning.com. This is the best option in terms of quality because it is a solution already in use in Texas and is being reviews as part of the HB 2503 Technology Literacy Assessment Pilot being conducted by TEA. However, the cost of doing this now would be $14,000.
• Option #2: Use the Glencoe TechConnect TA:TEKS assessment. This is a free assessment that came with our state-adopted electronic textbook. A recent review of how many SAISD campuses had activated or logged into the textbook was at only 41%. Actual usage was much lower.
• Option #3: Setup an in-house District assessment using Moodle course management system. This is an inexpensive option but it is the equivalent of taking a pencil-n-paper questionnaire, and putting it online for data collection purposes. This kind of assessment is ineffective in assessing Technology Applications TEKS, but may be all that many school districts have.

Technology Literacy Assessments for students in grades 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are in our future, so if you are a teacher in one of those grades, you are strongly encouraged to take advantage of available professional learning opportunities in the area of Educational/Instructional Technology through the District.

Consider this pilot is part of a first attempt to begin assessing your students'--and by extension, your--technology literacy:

House Bill (HB) 2503, 80th Texas Legislature, 2007, added the Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.0235, providing for the establishment of a pilot program in which participating school districts assess student technology proficiency. The project goal in accordance with HB 2503 is to develop and implement a statewide pilot program of an online technology assessment for a certain sample of Texas students. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will conduct a two-year Technology Literacy Assessment Pilot Program. Eligible participants of this RFSOI are public school districts and charter schools.

The assessment tool for the pilot will be selected by TEA through a Request for Proposals process. Each school year, the assessment instrument shall be administered in a participating school district to each student in either fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth grade on each selected campus. The pilot will begin March 2008. Data collection for the pilot program may continue through December 31, 2009.

If you are a classroom teacher, librarian, or administrator, it is critical that you consider the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) Technology Standards for All Educators. These standards are the same as what is expected of the 8th graders.

To help campus teachers, librarians, and administrators, I encourage you to take advantage of the wealth of 100% ONLINE professional learning opportunities that will begin to be available this Summer, 2008 through ePath.

You can get an advance preview via this PDF dcoument. Page 1 includes a summary of available courses (and when they'll be available). These online professional learning opportunities include 63 courses (205 hours) of Gifted and Talented credit...that you can earn entirely online without attending a face to face class.