To Asses or not to Assess? that is the question.

In order for the Texas Long Range Plan to move students into becoming 21st Century Learners, the state and schools must be made aware of exactly what is happening in the classroom. The classic way to gather information and note application of knowledge is to take an assessment. While the current assessment, the STaR Chart, is a relevant way to identifying needs and directing attention to the state requirements, it does not give data on interdependence of the relationship between student and teacher in the classroom.

The STaR Chart divides assessment of school districts into different categories, for example Teaching and Learning. Teachers are given generic questions to answer about their rating on how technology is being taught in the classroom. This type of question and answer does not account for any skills that a student might have gained in the classroom through an activity, and therefore contributed to application of the state plan. Teacher and student relations in the classroom are the foundations for learning and should be included in the assessment.

In the article Adopt and adapt: shaping tech for the classroom, author Marc Prensky points out that teachers do not "trust their kids with technology that they demand extensive 'training' before they will try anything new." And while the STaR Chart does account for Educator Preparation & Development. its does not account for when a teacher feels comfortable enough with new technology to trust their students to use it appropriately. Teachers consider themselves to be the custodians of knowledge and therefore will no send out what they do not think that they can send out correctly. However, in a digital world, students are more familiar with the technology than the teacher thus causing a change in roles, which is uncomfortable to teachers who are digital immigrants.

Also, the STaR Chart does not take into consideration those teachers who see the assessment as irrelevant. Year after year teachers view the same needs going unaddressed and the same questions being asked with out consideration. Teachers are pressured in every direction by to meet new standards with the same textbooks, ancillaries, and shortages; not to mention pressure from parents and the community which contributes to teachers feeling "over burdened" (Prensky, 2005). However, the positive aspect of the assessment is that teachers can answer truthfully at no consequence of jeopardizing their job. Negative answers only help to identify needs, implement solutions, encourage reaching goals.

In conclusion, assessment for meeting technology standards is a a relevant way to help schools meet the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology; however, altering the assessment for unconventional alternatives could prove to be a positive means of identifying goals that are being met. Also, attitudes are not considered, which plays a big part in exchanging any information. Perhaps teacher evaluations should be considered in the assessment. Doing so would encourage teachers to try and implement new technology.

Prensky, M. (2005). Adopt and adapt: shaping tech for the classroom. Edutopia: The George Lucas Foundation