Blog Entry #2: What role should the Fed Government play in the ed tech policy process?

While searching for more information regarding the No Child Left Behind Act and technology integration, I wondered how technological literacy was to be measured. The national technology standards were created as a guideline after the NCLB act was put into place, and states were allowed to create their own set of technology standards if they wished. Since technological literacy can be defined in many ways, I searched to see what types of evaluations were in place for 8th graders when they have to be assessed in accordance with the NCLB act.

I found the following link: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/tel/moreabout.asp

It is the site of the National Center for Education Statistics. The above link provides information about the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) assessment they have developed. This year, the assessment is being piloted to students in 8th grade at selected schools. It will be fully operation in 2014. The TEL assessment will measure three main areas: technology and society, design and systems, and information and communication technology. It will include scenario-based tasks, short-answer, and multiple-choice questions to measure students’ knowledge and skills. Achievement levels will be as follows: basic, proficient, and advanced.

Federal policy specifies that the NAEP testing is voluntary unless the school receives Title 1 funds. Schools that receive Title 1 funding are required to administer the reading and mathematics assessments from NAEP. I think the new technology and engineering literacy assessment should be included as well. I agree with the fact that Title 1 schools are required to administer certain national tests because they are receiving federal funding. Since a Title 1 school receives federal funding, it seems fair for the federal government to implement the national technology assessment. It is their role because it involves government money. Schools not receiving Title 1 in each state should continue to be free to evaluate technological literacy with assessments other than the new national assessment. However, I think it would be appropriate for the federal government to narrow down the possibilities of assessment because they range from a single test, a course, or even a portfolio created over many years.