Proper assessments are good to gather data as to where an entity (student, school or district) is currently at. If we assess at the start of something, whether it be a plan or an intervention or a semester, we know where we started. When we assess throughout the course of the plan or course we determine our progress. The technology assessment, aside from US Department of Education requirement, lets districts and schools see where they are at as far as reaching the goals of the technology plan. They need to know where they are at and what needs to be done to attain the districts goals.
The assessment of teachers’ technology proficiency and knowledge as well as the students knowledge and proficiency are just an integral part of the overall assessment of the district or state. The teachers and students are the front line so to speak. They are the principal players in this overall plan for technology. We need to know exactly where they are at and what their needs are to reach the goals we will set forth.
The down side of any assessment is conducting an inaccurate, unreliable or irrelevant one. The assessment is merely a tool. The more accurate the data the better we can plan. If a survey is taken on the state of the district’s technology level and perceived needs, and the data gathered is inaccurate or biased, the assessment is flawed.
I read my district’s initial technology assessment, which is part of the overall School Wide Improvement Plan, and disagreed with the committee’s assessment of where we were as well as why we were not progressing. In my opinion the assessment was not reliable. It was biased in my opinion. There were no supporting facts or documentation as to why we are not progressing. This will hamper our progress more than help.
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