Byline: Jim Mortleman
A school of
innovation
A specialist school for autistic children is introducing an internet multimedia system after winning IT award, says James Mortleman
An innovative design by one IT professional is set to bring major benefits to a specialist school for autistic children in the West Midlands, thanks to a Microsoft-sponsored competition.
In July, Tim Oldham's proposal for an internet and multimedia system for the Coddington Court School was voted winner of the DesignIT for Charity award -- see box below -- and is in the process of being introduced at the school.
Oldham, an infrastructure architect at BT, has a daughter on the edge of the autistic spectrum and is also a trustee of the charity autism.west midlands, the school's governing body.
'My day job is about connecting people and making IT work for people, and my home life is geared around all kinds of digital media,' he says. 'One of the real problems for children at a school such as Coddington, which takes
students from across the country, is isolation. My design was geared to connecting these children with the outside world and with modern digital life.'
But for autistic children, such connectivity is by no means straightforward. Roger Painter, the school's headmaster, says Coddington has 27 children, all of whom are very different.
'We need to make sure internet access is tightly controlled. Some children get fixated on certain things. For example, we had one child who would only surf to look at washing machines.
We would not stop that completely, but we have to monitor and limit it,' he says.
'It is easy to wrap the children up in cotton wool and pretend they are somehow immune from advances in modern technology. But some of them will move into adult education or go on to a residential college, while others might move into their own flat, with support. So we have to ensure they are not isolated from the digital world.'
Oldham knew Coddington needed to introduce online communications and digital media services, but had to work closely with the school to understand what the children could and could not benefit from.
'The range of students is diverse, with some capable of speaking to their parents over a webcam, for example, and others for whom this would be too confusing and upsetting,' he says.
One major consideration was to reduce the complexity of the interface. 'Nearly all the children communicate in symbols rather than text so it was very important we were able to provide a suitable interface,' says Oldham. 'The standard Windows Media Player interface, for example, was too complex. We had to devise a symbolic interface the children could more easily interact with.'
Another key issue was to ensure that students could access the system in a comfortable,
welcoming and closely monitored environment.
'For example, we had to be able to take the solution to them if required, which means using wireless technology and mobile devices, says Oldham.'
Speed and reliability was another major concern. Painter says some of the children tend to react quite badly if they have to wait a long time. 'If someone was trying to log on and it kept failing, they could get frustrated and possibly aggressive,' he says.
The use of a central server to house the school's media content means it will not get lost or damaged, and the solid-state devices the students use are also inherently more robust than CD players, says Oldham.
Implementation of the system is being carried out jointly by Microsoft and autism.west midlands, with Oldham working in a consultancy role.
'We do not have a "go live" date yet because we are being very careful to consult with the parents and school as we go along,' he says.
However, initial reactions from parents, carers and students
alike have been positive.
'One example a carer gave us recently is that they were able to show one parent a video clip of their daughter jumping into the swimming pool -- something she hadn't been able to do before,' says Oldham.
Painter says that children will also benefit from being able to communicate with one another. 'It will be a bit like our own version of Friends Reunited,' he says.
'Children with autism need to be included in opportunities along with everyone else in our society. This project shows that perhaps the technology we use needs to become far more accessible to those with special needs.'
[pounds sterling]15,000 on offer in design award
www.computing.co.uk/2172789http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/itx/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%252528en%25252C%25252C%252529%25253AFQE%25253D%252528su%25252CNone%25252C22%252529educational%252Btechnology%252524%257E%2529_1&contentSet=IAC-Documents&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T003&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=VIEW_TOPIC_TREE&prodId=ITOF&searchId=R9¤tPosition=6&userGroupName=gale15690&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28su%2CNone%2C24%29%22Educational+Technology%22%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=A158187567&docType=IAC
My say:
They are coming out with a multimedia system for autistic children. "An innovative design by one IT professional is set to bring major benefits to a specialist school for autistic children in the West Midlands, thanks to a Microsoft-sponsored competition." I believe this product can totally help special kids get the ideal education they deserve. This system will have different ways for autistic children to communicate with there teachers, which is a big help to them. By using this system I believe these kids will become smarter. "Children with autism need to be included in opportunities along with everyone else in our society. This project shows that perhaps the technology we use needs to become far more accessible to those with special needs."
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Remote-control classroom: an Iowa class heads into high-tech tests.(SCHOOL NEWS)(Wings Park Elementary School uses classroom performance system).
Every student in class has a remote control, and the kids are clicking away at the screen. But they aren't changing channels. They're taking a test! Terry Rex's fourth graders at Wings Park Elementary School in Oelwein, Iowa, are using a new kind of classroom technology. Instead of writing with pencils on exam papers, the students use remote controls to take tests.
"It's more fun," Courtney Ricchio, 9, told WR News. "I don't have to write, and my hand doesn't get tired." The remote controls are part of the Classroom Performance System (CPS). When students use CPS to take a test, the questions appear on an electronic screen. Students key in their answers on the remote-control response pad.
Rex is one of the first teachers in Iowa to use CPS. His students use the technology for more than taking tests. They also play learning games with the system. Sam Myott, 9, says his favorite CPS activity is a football game. "It's a math game with multiplication and subtraction," he told WR News. "Since it's on the computer, it's more fun than a worksheet on your desk."
Making the Grade
Some teachers think using CPS to grade a test is more efficient, or a better use of time, than grading a written test. The computer keeps track of the students' answers and prints out their grades at the end of the day. The computer also reports which questions the class found most difficult to answer, so Rex can review them with the group.
http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/itx/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%252528en%25252C%25252C%252529%25253AFQE%25253D%252528su%25252CNone%25252C22%252529educational%252Btechnology%252524%257E%2529_1&contentSet=IAC-Documents&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T003&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=VIEW_TOPIC_TREE&prodId=ITOF&searchId=R7¤tPosition=1&userGroupName=gale15690&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28su%2CNone%2C24%29%22Educational+Technology%22%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=A159698013&docType=IAC
My Say:
Who ever thought you would be taking a test by using a remote? Well in Iowa, teachers in local elementary schools are using that method. "It's a new kind of classroom technology. Instead of writing with pencils on exam papers, the students use remote controls to take tests." Students seem to like it a lot better, because they don't have to write at all. "The remote controls are part of the Classroom Performance System (CPS). When students use CPS to take a test, the questions appear on an electronic screen. Students key in their answers on the remote-control response pad." This new CPS system has shown that it is very efficient and seems to be effective. These teachers persuade other teachers to use this method, and is one of the many new technologies used in schools that have been proved that they work.
"It's more fun," Courtney Ricchio, 9, told WR News. "I don't have to write, and my hand doesn't get tired." The remote controls are part of the Classroom Performance System (CPS). When students use CPS to take a test, the questions appear on an electronic screen. Students key in their answers on the remote-control response pad.
Rex is one of the first teachers in Iowa to use CPS. His students use the technology for more than taking tests. They also play learning games with the system. Sam Myott, 9, says his favorite CPS activity is a football game. "It's a math game with multiplication and subtraction," he told WR News. "Since it's on the computer, it's more fun than a worksheet on your desk."
Making the Grade
Some teachers think using CPS to grade a test is more efficient, or a better use of time, than grading a written test. The computer keeps track of the students' answers and prints out their grades at the end of the day. The computer also reports which questions the class found most difficult to answer, so Rex can review them with the group.
http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/itx/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%252528en%25252C%25252C%252529%25253AFQE%25253D%252528su%25252CNone%25252C22%252529educational%252Btechnology%252524%257E%2529_1&contentSet=IAC-Documents&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T003&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=VIEW_TOPIC_TREE&prodId=ITOF&searchId=R7¤tPosition=1&userGroupName=gale15690&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28su%2CNone%2C24%29%22Educational+Technology%22%24&inPS=true&searchType=BasicSearchForm&displaySubject=&docId=A159698013&docType=IAC
My Say:
Who ever thought you would be taking a test by using a remote? Well in Iowa, teachers in local elementary schools are using that method. "It's a new kind of classroom technology. Instead of writing with pencils on exam papers, the students use remote controls to take tests." Students seem to like it a lot better, because they don't have to write at all. "The remote controls are part of the Classroom Performance System (CPS). When students use CPS to take a test, the questions appear on an electronic screen. Students key in their answers on the remote-control response pad." This new CPS system has shown that it is very efficient and seems to be effective. These teachers persuade other teachers to use this method, and is one of the many new technologies used in schools that have been proved that they work.
Higher education struggles to recast classrooms with technology; Online learning techniques, strategies change face of education.
Byline: John Cox
Faculty and IT staff in higher education are struggling to understand what happens when computers and networks dissolve
the boundaries of what used to be called the classroom.
The confusion, challenges and excitement of being on that new frontier were clear in session after session this week at the
annual North East Regional Computing Program, a three-day conference for IT professionals in higher education.
"We're still just starting to figure this out," says Annesa Hartman, instructional designer, Landmark College, Putney, Vt.
As part of the college's Institute for Research and Training, she creates guidelines and recommendations for, and helps teachers
with, online instruction. Her NERCOMP presentation focused on applying universal design principles to make online course materials
and tools simpler to use and accessible for more students.
"A lot of teachers are [still] just happy to get something online," Hartman says. "The issue is how to make that useable and
readable to the students."
Hartman's job is the fruit of an explosion of interest in online learning, where students can access a fast-growing abundance
of multimedia resources and use them in online-mediate interactions with classmates and teachers, sometimes even in different
institutions, through chat, bulletin boards, video conferences, wikis and many more tools.
The trend potentially pits IT and network staff against faculty because it calls for a radically new sharing of expertise,
a willingness for two distinct disciplines to learn how to talk to each other, understand each other and work together.
Simmons College, in Boston, last year launched an intense effort to clarify what faculty, administrators and IT managers meant
by "academic technology," the term typically used to sum up these learning-focused technologies.
The urgency was created when the college's regular strategic IT planning process revealed a chasm of understanding between
these groups. Deans and faculty members acknowledged they often had only the vaguest idea of the technologies or their capabilities.
And IT staff discovered they often had equally vague ideas idea about what the others meant, expected or needed in academic
technology.
"What we needed was a process of mutual education," says Braddlee, Simmons' director of academic computing. The goal was to
create a common language for the different groups, to talk intelligibly and constructively about academic technology and to
make informed decisions about technology priorities, their tradeoffs, costs and consequences.
Using briefing documents, presentations, demonstrations and a set of preliminary potential priorities, the IT staff began
meeting last fall with faculty and deans, both in college-wide meetings and individual schools. It was an effort to create
a focused dialog about the strategic use of academic technology, resulting in specific decisions about the technology priorities
for implementation. As one faculty member said in a video clip, "The word 'wiki' is no longer a foreign word to me."
"Part of this was our giving up control over [deciding on our own] the three-year direction of academic technology at Simmons,"
says Gail Matthews-DeNatale, associate director of academic computing at the college. The IT group presented to faculty details
on the IT funding priorities and allocations, what could and could not be shifted, the financial and human resources needed
for technology options, and the various tradeoffs that each option would entail.
The college is now organizing for each of the technology priorities a cross-discipline working group and a companion faculty
interest group, as well as setting up a summer institute for faculty to increase their fluency with specific technologies,
and re-organizing budget priorities and schedules.
Making it possible for faculty to realize their learning goals for students through emerging technologiesais a prime focus
of instructional technology.
"I present [faculty with] options. I ask 'what if?'" says Gary Pandolfi, instructional technologist at Quinnipiac University,
inaHamden, Conn. Pandolfi is a former English teacher who started writing online materials for academic publishers, until
taking his current post at the university.
One technique is to ask a teacher what he or she enjoys doing most. One teacher's reply was "talking with students," followed
by a complaint that he has no time in class to do so. Pandolfi's suggestion was to tape the classroom lecture, post it with
a Powerpoint presentation and other notes online, require students to view or read the material before coming to class, and
then use the classroom time to talkaabout it.
One unexpected feature of online learning resources, says Landmark's Hartman, is that it requires faculty to be much more
organized and systematic than ever before. "Online content has to be highly planned," she says. "This is a revolutionary idea
for instructors. They now have to have a concrete plan for the entire course. It's not like walking into a class with a few
notes and winging it."
This was underscored by another Simmons College project: digital stories, or online narratives typically using pictures, text,
audio and video, using Apple's video-editing software, iMovie. Simmons staff found both students and faculty underestimated
how time-consuming the production process was. Now, the projects are structured so that about half the total time is spent
by the student on planning, researching and collecting digital content; one-quarter of the time in iMovie training; and one-quarter
on the actual digital story production.
Landmark's Institute makes extensive, almost exhaustive use of online usability testing tools, including software programs
that track a student's eyes movements and mouse clicks, to design, review and revise online content that's clear, simple to
navigate and achieves the teacher's learning goals for the student.
But even as all this is being invented on the fly, tools for measuring the results of online learning alsoahave to be invented.
The University of Massachusetts at Lowell wanted to evaluate "learning outcomes" for students using Web-enhanced course across
degree programs, not just outcomes for a given course. It proved unexpectedly difficult. Initially, the project team thought
it could easily access dataaoutcomes collected by the learning management system used by the entire public university system,
WebCT Vista, which is now part of Blackboard, another LMS vendor.
"We thought it would be easy to access a Web-based system that was storing results in a database," says Luvai Motiwalla, professor
of MIS, at the university's department of management. But the data was stored in a proprietary format not easily deciphered,
the documentation was poor and there were bureaucratic obstacles that had to be overcome.
The project team was able to extract data, which had to be processed in spreadsheets, stored in a separate MySQL database
and managed with a set of custom scripts, and mapped to specific course activities in specific courses for each school.
"There are so many new [online] interactions out there, how can you know which ones are being successful?" asks Steve Tello,
assistant professors at University of Massachusetts Lowell Department of Management. "The [commercial] learning management
systems only give you data on how many students logged in to a lecture, or how often: they track usage. But they don't track
'what did they learn from all this?'"Source Citation: "Higher education struggles to recast classrooms with technology; Online learning techniques, strategies change face of education." Network World (March 21, 2007): NA. InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale. Florida Gulf Coast University. 28 Mar. 2007.How to Cite
Thomson Gale Document Number: A161003645
hideIfSafari(document.getElementById("infomarkUrl"));
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My Say:
It is hard to believe that some students are still not getting the online education in schools. It is very important for students to grasp on technology in school, how else will they succeed in the real world without it. "Almost exhaustive use of online usability testing tools, including software programs that track a student's eyes movements and mouse clicks, to design, review and revise online content that's clear, simple to navigate and achieves the teacher's learning goals for the student. " Getting students the proper technology and software is needed in schools, because of the strategies it can teach your kids from grades k-12.
Faculty and IT staff in higher education are struggling to understand what happens when computers and networks dissolve
the boundaries of what used to be called the classroom.
The confusion, challenges and excitement of being on that new frontier were clear in session after session this week at the
annual North East Regional Computing Program, a three-day conference for IT professionals in higher education.
"We're still just starting to figure this out," says Annesa Hartman, instructional designer, Landmark College, Putney, Vt.
As part of the college's Institute for Research and Training, she creates guidelines and recommendations for, and helps teachers
with, online instruction. Her NERCOMP presentation focused on applying universal design principles to make online course materials
and tools simpler to use and accessible for more students.
"A lot of teachers are [still] just happy to get something online," Hartman says. "The issue is how to make that useable and
readable to the students."
Hartman's job is the fruit of an explosion of interest in online learning, where students can access a fast-growing abundance
of multimedia resources and use them in online-mediate interactions with classmates and teachers, sometimes even in different
institutions, through chat, bulletin boards, video conferences, wikis and many more tools.
The trend potentially pits IT and network staff against faculty because it calls for a radically new sharing of expertise,
a willingness for two distinct disciplines to learn how to talk to each other, understand each other and work together.
Simmons College, in Boston, last year launched an intense effort to clarify what faculty, administrators and IT managers meant
by "academic technology," the term typically used to sum up these learning-focused technologies.
The urgency was created when the college's regular strategic IT planning process revealed a chasm of understanding between
these groups. Deans and faculty members acknowledged they often had only the vaguest idea of the technologies or their capabilities.
And IT staff discovered they often had equally vague ideas idea about what the others meant, expected or needed in academic
technology.
"What we needed was a process of mutual education," says Braddlee, Simmons' director of academic computing. The goal was to
create a common language for the different groups, to talk intelligibly and constructively about academic technology and to
make informed decisions about technology priorities, their tradeoffs, costs and consequences.
Using briefing documents, presentations, demonstrations and a set of preliminary potential priorities, the IT staff began
meeting last fall with faculty and deans, both in college-wide meetings and individual schools. It was an effort to create
a focused dialog about the strategic use of academic technology, resulting in specific decisions about the technology priorities
for implementation. As one faculty member said in a video clip, "The word 'wiki' is no longer a foreign word to me."
"Part of this was our giving up control over [deciding on our own] the three-year direction of academic technology at Simmons,"
says Gail Matthews-DeNatale, associate director of academic computing at the college. The IT group presented to faculty details
on the IT funding priorities and allocations, what could and could not be shifted, the financial and human resources needed
for technology options, and the various tradeoffs that each option would entail.
The college is now organizing for each of the technology priorities a cross-discipline working group and a companion faculty
interest group, as well as setting up a summer institute for faculty to increase their fluency with specific technologies,
and re-organizing budget priorities and schedules.
Making it possible for faculty to realize their learning goals for students through emerging technologiesais a prime focus
of instructional technology.
"I present [faculty with] options. I ask 'what if?'" says Gary Pandolfi, instructional technologist at Quinnipiac University,
inaHamden, Conn. Pandolfi is a former English teacher who started writing online materials for academic publishers, until
taking his current post at the university.
One technique is to ask a teacher what he or she enjoys doing most. One teacher's reply was "talking with students," followed
by a complaint that he has no time in class to do so. Pandolfi's suggestion was to tape the classroom lecture, post it with
a Powerpoint presentation and other notes online, require students to view or read the material before coming to class, and
then use the classroom time to talkaabout it.
One unexpected feature of online learning resources, says Landmark's Hartman, is that it requires faculty to be much more
organized and systematic than ever before. "Online content has to be highly planned," she says. "This is a revolutionary idea
for instructors. They now have to have a concrete plan for the entire course. It's not like walking into a class with a few
notes and winging it."
This was underscored by another Simmons College project: digital stories, or online narratives typically using pictures, text,
audio and video, using Apple's video-editing software, iMovie. Simmons staff found both students and faculty underestimated
how time-consuming the production process was. Now, the projects are structured so that about half the total time is spent
by the student on planning, researching and collecting digital content; one-quarter of the time in iMovie training; and one-quarter
on the actual digital story production.
Landmark's Institute makes extensive, almost exhaustive use of online usability testing tools, including software programs
that track a student's eyes movements and mouse clicks, to design, review and revise online content that's clear, simple to
navigate and achieves the teacher's learning goals for the student.
But even as all this is being invented on the fly, tools for measuring the results of online learning alsoahave to be invented.
The University of Massachusetts at Lowell wanted to evaluate "learning outcomes" for students using Web-enhanced course across
degree programs, not just outcomes for a given course. It proved unexpectedly difficult. Initially, the project team thought
it could easily access dataaoutcomes collected by the learning management system used by the entire public university system,
WebCT Vista, which is now part of Blackboard, another LMS vendor.
"We thought it would be easy to access a Web-based system that was storing results in a database," says Luvai Motiwalla, professor
of MIS, at the university's department of management. But the data was stored in a proprietary format not easily deciphered,
the documentation was poor and there were bureaucratic obstacles that had to be overcome.
The project team was able to extract data, which had to be processed in spreadsheets, stored in a separate MySQL database
and managed with a set of custom scripts, and mapped to specific course activities in specific courses for each school.
"There are so many new [online] interactions out there, how can you know which ones are being successful?" asks Steve Tello,
assistant professors at University of Massachusetts Lowell Department of Management. "The [commercial] learning management
systems only give you data on how many students logged in to a lecture, or how often: they track usage. But they don't track
'what did they learn from all this?'"Source Citation: "Higher education struggles to recast classrooms with technology; Online learning techniques, strategies change face of education." Network World (March 21, 2007): NA. InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale. Florida Gulf Coast University. 28 Mar. 2007
Thomson Gale Document Number: A161003645
hideIfSafari(document.getElementById("infomarkUrl"));
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My Say:
It is hard to believe that some students are still not getting the online education in schools. It is very important for students to grasp on technology in school, how else will they succeed in the real world without it. "Almost exhaustive use of online usability testing tools, including software programs that track a student's eyes movements and mouse clicks, to design, review and revise online content that's clear, simple to navigate and achieves the teacher's learning goals for the student. " Getting students the proper technology and software is needed in schools, because of the strategies it can teach your kids from grades k-12.
Nordstrom awards $30K grant to education group
Nordstrom Inc. has awarded a $30,000 grant to Choices Education Group, which will help the nonprofit reach more than 7,000 students in 10 southern and midwestern states.
The Seattle-based nonprofit has raised $180,000 in corporate grants so far this year.
Seattle retailer Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN - News) has now awarded five grants totaling $212,500 to Choices.
The nonprofit uses donations to pay for materials and training for volunteers, many of them from the business community, who speak to children about career, life and education options.
Leo Muller, Choices' executive director, says his organization's programs have reached 5 million children in all 50 states since 1985, including 12,570 in Washington this year.
Choices Education Group's current budget is about $660,000.
Published March 26, 2007 by the Puget Sound Business Journal.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/070327/1437766.html?.v=2
My Say:
This is a big amount of money that has been awarded to these education programs and wil help nonprofit students get a proper education. I like this article, because it shows some people do care about this educational department that we have, and it is important to have the proper training in becoming great teachers. Choice Education Group did a good thing by donating that money, because it will benefit these kids and them as a company.
The Seattle-based nonprofit has raised $180,000 in corporate grants so far this year.
Seattle retailer Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN - News) has now awarded five grants totaling $212,500 to Choices.
The nonprofit uses donations to pay for materials and training for volunteers, many of them from the business community, who speak to children about career, life and education options.
Leo Muller, Choices' executive director, says his organization's programs have reached 5 million children in all 50 states since 1985, including 12,570 in Washington this year.
Choices Education Group's current budget is about $660,000.
Published March 26, 2007 by the Puget Sound Business Journal.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/070327/1437766.html?.v=2
My Say:
This is a big amount of money that has been awarded to these education programs and wil help nonprofit students get a proper education. I like this article, because it shows some people do care about this educational department that we have, and it is important to have the proper training in becoming great teachers. Choice Education Group did a good thing by donating that money, because it will benefit these kids and them as a company.
Testing companies struggle to meet NCLB demands
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- To motivate juniors on last April's assessment exams, Springfield High School offered coveted lockers, parking spaces near the door and free prom tickets as incentives for good scores.
But the incentives at the central Illinois school went unclaimed until earlier this month, when Illinois finally published its 2006 test scores -- more than four months after they were due.
Critics pounced on Harcourt Assessment Inc., which lost most of its $44.5 million state contract over delays -- caused by everything from shipping problems to missing test pages and scoring errors -- that made Illinois the last state in the nation to release scores used to judge schools under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
But experts say the problems are more widespread and are likely to get worse. A handful of companies create, print and score most of the tests in the U.S. and they're struggling with a workload that has exploded since President Bush signed the education reform package in 2002.
"The testing industry in the U.S. is buckling under the weight of NCLB demands," said Thomas Toch, co-director of Education Sector, a Washington-based think tank.
When Education Sector surveyed 23 states in 2006, it found that 35 percent of testing offices in those states had experienced "significant" errors with scoring and 20 percent didn't get results "in a timely fashion."
Illinois saw more problems this month, when students took achievement tests that contained as many as 13 errors, officials said.
Illinois isn't the only state that's experienced difficulties:
Oregon's Education Department complained that a computerized test was plagued by system problems. Test company Vantage Learning later terminated its contract with the state, claiming it was owed money, and the state sued the company for breach of contract. Now, thousands of students who haven't completed online exams will take them in May the old-fashioned way, using paper and pencil.
Connecticut last year fined Harcourt $80,000 after a processing error caused wrong scores for 355 students in 2005. While that's a fraction of the state's 41,000 kids who took the test, state officials had to notify 51, or nearly a third, of all districts that some of their students got the wrong scores. The problem came a year after the state canceled its contract with another company, CTB/McGraw-Hill, after scoring problems caused a five-month delay in reporting scores.
The Texas Education Agency passed 4,160 10th-graders who initially failed the math section of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in 2003 after officials discovered a test question had more than one correct answer.
Pearson Educational Measurement apologized last year after it reported more than 900,000 Michigan results weeks late. In 2003, previous vendor Measurement Inc. delivered 3,400 MEAP scores months late and nearly 1,000 results went missing.
Alabama education officials said a testing company mistakenly failed some schools while passing others that should have failed, due to scoring problems on the 2005 assessment test.
The number of students tested has risen sharply since the No Child Left Behind Act took effect. Illinois, for example, used to test only third, fifth and eighth graders but now tests students in third through eighth grades.
To meet NCLB requirements, states administered 45 million reading and math exams during spring 2006. At the end of the 2007-2008 school year, they will give about 56 million tests because they must add a science exam at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
What's more, each state has its own test, and many want them customized, said Michael Hansen, chief executive officer of Harcourt Assessment, which no longer administers Illinois' tests but still is involved in developing and grading them.
"Not only (have) states wanted different content in terms of the tests, but they also have very many different requirements as to logistics, delivery, look and feel, color, how the questions are organized, horizontal, vertical ... you name it, it was on the table," Hansen said.
On top of that, experts say, are rigid NCLB-driven deadlines.
"That means March and April we are completely ... at peak capacity and so is every one of our competitors," Hansen said. "But also then when the test results come in, they (schools) need the test results back as soon as possible ... so the turnaround from the time that the test is taken, to (when) we need to report the results is extremely tight and it's getting tighter and tighter."
Others say the problems are exacerbated by little competition or regulation.
The NCLB testing industry is dominated by four companies: Harcourt of San Antonio,Texas; CTB/McGraw-Hill based in Monterey, California; Pearson Educational Measurement of Iowa City, Iowa, and Riverside Publishing of Itasca, Illinois.
"It's not entirely a monopoly, but it is an oligopoly, with very little regulation," said Walter Haney, professor at the Center for the Study of Testing Evaluation and Educational Policy at Boston College.
Both state education departments and testing companies are "overtaxed and bursting at the seams," said Becky Watts, former chief of staff at the Illinois State Board of Education.
From 2002 to 2008, states will spend between $1.9 billion and $5.3 billion to develop, score and report NCLB-required tests, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
However, states spend less than a quarter of 1 percent of school revenue -- or $10 to $30 a student -- on testing programs, even though federal, state and local spending per pupil adds up to more than $8,000 a year, Toch said.
"That's not enough to produce high-quality tests in the tight timelines that NCLB requires. It's ludicrous," Toch said.
The U.S. Department of Education must be more active, Toch said.
"Instead, Secretary (Margaret) Spellings has largely washed her hands of this problem, said it's a state problem, which is a peculiar ... response because it's the federal government that has required the states to take these actions," Toch said.
My say:
Test companies are having a hard time keeping up with NCLB, because of error of checking and getting test scores. Test industries are buckling down ever since Bush did something about it in 2002, and seems to be goin down hill each more every year. So how can we fix this problem? "From 2002 to 2008, states will spend between $1.9 billion and $5.3 billion to develop, score and report NCLB-required tests, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office." Since the No Child left behind act, test scores have been going up but not to the standards of the country. We spend little amounts of money on testing practice material, and it shows it isn't enough to imporve scores for children. "The U.S. Department of Education must be more active, Toch said." If we don't do anything to help our kids this problem will seem to creep up on us, from now to the future.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/03/25/nclb.standardized.test.ap/index.html
POSTED: 10:33 a.m. EDT, March 28, 2007
But the incentives at the central Illinois school went unclaimed until earlier this month, when Illinois finally published its 2006 test scores -- more than four months after they were due.
Critics pounced on Harcourt Assessment Inc., which lost most of its $44.5 million state contract over delays -- caused by everything from shipping problems to missing test pages and scoring errors -- that made Illinois the last state in the nation to release scores used to judge schools under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
But experts say the problems are more widespread and are likely to get worse. A handful of companies create, print and score most of the tests in the U.S. and they're struggling with a workload that has exploded since President Bush signed the education reform package in 2002.
"The testing industry in the U.S. is buckling under the weight of NCLB demands," said Thomas Toch, co-director of Education Sector, a Washington-based think tank.
When Education Sector surveyed 23 states in 2006, it found that 35 percent of testing offices in those states had experienced "significant" errors with scoring and 20 percent didn't get results "in a timely fashion."
Illinois saw more problems this month, when students took achievement tests that contained as many as 13 errors, officials said.
Illinois isn't the only state that's experienced difficulties:
Oregon's Education Department complained that a computerized test was plagued by system problems. Test company Vantage Learning later terminated its contract with the state, claiming it was owed money, and the state sued the company for breach of contract. Now, thousands of students who haven't completed online exams will take them in May the old-fashioned way, using paper and pencil.
Connecticut last year fined Harcourt $80,000 after a processing error caused wrong scores for 355 students in 2005. While that's a fraction of the state's 41,000 kids who took the test, state officials had to notify 51, or nearly a third, of all districts that some of their students got the wrong scores. The problem came a year after the state canceled its contract with another company, CTB/McGraw-Hill, after scoring problems caused a five-month delay in reporting scores.
The Texas Education Agency passed 4,160 10th-graders who initially failed the math section of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in 2003 after officials discovered a test question had more than one correct answer.
Pearson Educational Measurement apologized last year after it reported more than 900,000 Michigan results weeks late. In 2003, previous vendor Measurement Inc. delivered 3,400 MEAP scores months late and nearly 1,000 results went missing.
Alabama education officials said a testing company mistakenly failed some schools while passing others that should have failed, due to scoring problems on the 2005 assessment test.
The number of students tested has risen sharply since the No Child Left Behind Act took effect. Illinois, for example, used to test only third, fifth and eighth graders but now tests students in third through eighth grades.
To meet NCLB requirements, states administered 45 million reading and math exams during spring 2006. At the end of the 2007-2008 school year, they will give about 56 million tests because they must add a science exam at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
What's more, each state has its own test, and many want them customized, said Michael Hansen, chief executive officer of Harcourt Assessment, which no longer administers Illinois' tests but still is involved in developing and grading them.
"Not only (have) states wanted different content in terms of the tests, but they also have very many different requirements as to logistics, delivery, look and feel, color, how the questions are organized, horizontal, vertical ... you name it, it was on the table," Hansen said.
On top of that, experts say, are rigid NCLB-driven deadlines.
"That means March and April we are completely ... at peak capacity and so is every one of our competitors," Hansen said. "But also then when the test results come in, they (schools) need the test results back as soon as possible ... so the turnaround from the time that the test is taken, to (when) we need to report the results is extremely tight and it's getting tighter and tighter."
Others say the problems are exacerbated by little competition or regulation.
The NCLB testing industry is dominated by four companies: Harcourt of San Antonio,Texas; CTB/McGraw-Hill based in Monterey, California; Pearson Educational Measurement of Iowa City, Iowa, and Riverside Publishing of Itasca, Illinois.
"It's not entirely a monopoly, but it is an oligopoly, with very little regulation," said Walter Haney, professor at the Center for the Study of Testing Evaluation and Educational Policy at Boston College.
Both state education departments and testing companies are "overtaxed and bursting at the seams," said Becky Watts, former chief of staff at the Illinois State Board of Education.
From 2002 to 2008, states will spend between $1.9 billion and $5.3 billion to develop, score and report NCLB-required tests, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
However, states spend less than a quarter of 1 percent of school revenue -- or $10 to $30 a student -- on testing programs, even though federal, state and local spending per pupil adds up to more than $8,000 a year, Toch said.
"That's not enough to produce high-quality tests in the tight timelines that NCLB requires. It's ludicrous," Toch said.
The U.S. Department of Education must be more active, Toch said.
"Instead, Secretary (Margaret) Spellings has largely washed her hands of this problem, said it's a state problem, which is a peculiar ... response because it's the federal government that has required the states to take these actions," Toch said.
My say:
Test companies are having a hard time keeping up with NCLB, because of error of checking and getting test scores. Test industries are buckling down ever since Bush did something about it in 2002, and seems to be goin down hill each more every year. So how can we fix this problem? "From 2002 to 2008, states will spend between $1.9 billion and $5.3 billion to develop, score and report NCLB-required tests, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office." Since the No Child left behind act, test scores have been going up but not to the standards of the country. We spend little amounts of money on testing practice material, and it shows it isn't enough to imporve scores for children. "The U.S. Department of Education must be more active, Toch said." If we don't do anything to help our kids this problem will seem to creep up on us, from now to the future.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/03/25/nclb.standardized.test.ap/index.html
POSTED: 10:33 a.m. EDT, March 28, 2007
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