State Technology Learning Assessments

MUSD will be assessing nearly 400 5th & 8th Grade Students

While not directly related to videoconferencing, through our involvement and active participation in the Pinal County ITv Consortium, MUSD became part of last year's AZ State Department of Education Statewide Technology Learning Assessment Initiative, under the direction of Cathy Poplin, ADE Director of Educational Technology.

The Grant that supports the Consortium, sponsored MUSD and other Consortium School Districts to become part of the state baseline. These baseline assessments were conducted last spring. The state mandated the number of 5th and 8th graders to be assessed, cost of assessment paid thorugh the ITv Consortium Grant.

Why 5th and 8th graders? Just like AIMS testing, which measures students standards based performance over time, TLA measures and evaluates student, teacher, school and District performance (compared to State and National results) benchmarking at carious learning stages, to insure 'on-target' growth is taking place. 'No Child Left Behind' mandates that students be technology 'proficient' by the end of the 8th grade. (Proficiency defined through AZ ADE State Technology Standards).

This year the grant will once again fund assessments for Pinal County ITv Consortium member schools. This is a huge benefit of the grant, other districts - throughout the state- are self-funded at a rate of prox. $3.00 per student assessed. An\ exciting change this year is that the same students will have a Pre-Assessment (November 2006) and a Post-Assessment (Spring 2007). This will allow evaluation of growth of the same population of students over the course of the school year!

Assessments are conducted in the computer labs at the Elementary and Middle Schools and will occur throughout the month of November.

Developer: http://www.learning.com/
To view sample assessment: Products, Tech Literacy Assessment, under Quick Links select Elementary or Middle School sample - require FLASH, get free download here

From the ADE website:
Press Release

'Scope and Purpose' Technology Learning Assessment"

Direct comments or questions to achayefsky@musd20.org MUSD TLA Coordinator