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Opportunity One: Technology Initiative Evaluation for the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation

Jason Ravitz & John Megendoller (Buck Institute for Education, 2002)

In making investments in Idaho through the Opportunity I initiative, the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation has acknowledged the hopeful promise of technology and also the need to assess the impacts of technology in classrooms. This report interprets data about student and teacher technology use to portray what is happening in Idaho classrooms and to provide guidance for future funding decisions. It brings together several data sets including a statewide Idaho School Technology Inventory, standardized tests of student achievement (ITBS/TAP), and a teacher survey that has been used in national studies of teacher pedagogy and technology use.

• We synthesize findings about data sets and draw attention to patterns of technology use and achievement in Idaho.
• We describe basic patterns of computer use and achievement that suggest higher-achieving schools and students use computers more than lower achieving schools and students.
• We then draw comparisons between students, teachers, and schools that have similar characteristics to see if technology use is associated with student achievement, with other things being equal.