Leadership Symposium: Early Bird Pricing Ends March 24 | Register Now
Special Report
Education

Virginia

May 03, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Virginia’s efforts in online testing might help the state as it tries to finance technology in light of President Bush’s proposed fiscal 2006 budget, which calls for eliminating educational technology state grants.

For the 2004-05 school year, the state is contributing nearly $60 million in state educational technology funds to equip schools with the necessary technology to administer its online end-of-course Standards of Learning, or SOL, tests. Virginia high schools already have that technology in place, so the state is readying its elementary and middle schools with the appropriate technology. State funding for that purpose is expected to continue through 2009.

But Lan W. Neugent, the state’s assistant superintendent for technology, says he is dismayed by the president’s proposed cuts, because the state has relied on those federal dollars in the past to provide essential teacher training in the use of technology.

The state also started a program in the 2004-05 school year that will provide some support for teachers in the use of classroom technology. The state also set aside $3.8 million for the 2004-05 school year to help all schools hire an information-technology specialist for every 1,000 students. An additional $18 million will ensure that a technology-resource teacher, who will model classroom technology use and help teachers integrate technology into their curricula, is provided for every 1,000 students.

Virginia is also working with Pearson Educational Measurement, an Iowa City, Iowa-based company that provides various assessment services and products, to build its educational-information-management system. As part of the system, each student is assigned a testing identifier. To date, about a million students, out of some 1.3 million in the state, have received their identifiers, and state officials were hoping all students would have their identifiers by the end of April 2005.

The system will help the state organize student test data to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Special Education Webinar
Big Goals, Small Start: Building MTSS to Scale
MTSS is a powerful framework for supporting student success, but implementation can be challenging. Learn from districts about their MTSS success stories and challenges.
Content provided by Panorama Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Exploring Staff Shortage Impact on Education
Learn about the impact of staff shortages, changing roles of educators, and how technology supports teachers & students.
Content provided by Promethean
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Improving Outcomes on State Assessments with Data-Driven Strategies
State testing is around the corner! Join us as we discuss how teachers can use formative data to drive improved outcomes on state assessments.
Content provided by Instructure

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 8, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 22, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 8, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
6 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 1, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read