THE PRACTICE: Assessment and Evaluation - School leaders must utilize assessment and evaluation techniques to inform decision making and ensure continuous improvement in teaching and learning.
Content Presented By:
Edvantia

Resources related to this practice:

• Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement
  http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm

  Because effective use of technology must be supported by significant investments in hardware, software, infrastructure, professional development, and support services, there is a call for evidence regarding the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of technology in K-12 schools (Panel on Educational Technology, 1997; Melmed, 1995). Schools will be held accountable for these investments. How can schools ensure that the promise that technology holds for student achievement is realized? What factors need to be in place to support the effective use of technology? What resources can school districts use to help them plan for technology that will have a positive impact on student achievement, and how can they justify that investment? This document attempts to answer these questions and outlines a policy for effectively implementing technology in the classroom.

• Edtechnot.com
  http://www.edtechnot.com/

  This site might be called a meeting of ed tech leaders throughout the world. Its purpose is to bring those who are guiding technology use in schools together to discuss divergent opinions. The site includes information on plans, web logs, books, and ideas related to educational technology.

• ISTE Technology Foundation Standards for Students
  http://cnets.iste.org/students/

  To live, learn, and work successfully in an increasingly complex and information-rich society, students must be able to use technology effectively. These ISTE standards provide guidelines for technology use in schools. The information provided includes links to performance indicators, curriculum examples, and scenarios.

• Level of Technology Implementation
  http://www.lotilounge.com/

  The National Business Education Alliance offers this framework (LOTI or Level of Technology Integration) and associated instruments for helping educators assess their level of implementation of instructional technology.

• New Directions in the Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Educational Technology
  http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/techconf99/whitepapers/
  paper8.html

  This paper by Walter F. Heinecke, Ph.D, Laura Blasi, Natalie Milman, and Lisa Washington from the Curry School of Education at the University of Viginia was presented at the Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology.

• Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational Technology
  http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/edtalk/intro.pdf

  This Council for Educational Development and Research (CEDaR) EdTalk publication introduces what is known about effective learning and effective technology, and puts it together in planning a framework for educators and policymakers. The publication's chapters include New Times Demand New Ways of Learning, The Technology Effectiveness Framework, Policy Issues in Using Technology for Engaged Learning, Putting Policy into Place, and Recommendations for Policymakers and Educators. The study finds that technology that does not advance students' learning and has little value in the classroom.

• Recent Research on the Effects of Technology on Teaching and Learning
  http://www.wested.org/techpolicy/research.html

  What does research and experience tell us about the benefits and the most appropriate uses of technology and telecommunications to support and expand teaching and learning? This report provides a national perspective, provides research findings, including student and educator outcomes, conditions for technology to be effective, features of effective learning technologies, and state and federal program support factors. Although not a recent report, it contains information that will be valuable for educators.

• Taking A Good Look at Instructional Technology (TAGLIT)
  http://www.bellsouth.com/education/pdfs/power-findings/tsld026.htm

  Dr. Sheila Cory and Ms. Jennifer Peterson developed TAGLIT, a suite of assessment tools designed to help principals and other school leaders gather, analyze, and report information about how technology is used for teaching and learning in their schools. It was designed originally for use by North Carolina educators participating in "Principals as Technology Leaders," a professional development program offered by the Principals' Executive Program, a component program of the University of North Carolina Center for School Leadership Development.

• Technology's Impact
  http://www.electronic-school.com/0997f3.html

  This 1997 article from Electronic School magazine outlines what the Educational Testing Service (ETS) found in its evaluation of the effectiveness of technology use. The study analyzes technology's benefits and limitations in the classroom, with an emphasis on the best uses of technology by classroom teachers.

• Technology: How Do We Know It Works?
  http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/techconf99/whitepapers/
  paper5.html

  This white paper by Eva L. Baker of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA was presented at the Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology.

• The Secretary of Education's Conference on Educational Technology - Spotlight Schools
  http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/techconf99/index.html

  The Secretary of Education's 1999 Conference on Educational Technology examines the shift in schools' focus on technology. Where once the emphasis was on building and implementing a technology infrastructure, it currently focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of its use in schools and classrooms. In Spotlight Schools, the conference evaluates over 40 schools that have demonstrated successful technology integration.

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This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu