Student Achievement

School Gains Incomplete, Industry Report Finds

January 30, 2002 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A report from the nation’s information-technology industry pats educators on the back for raising student achievement and the availability of classroom technology over the past decade, but suggests there is much more work to be done to prepare the nation’s future workforce.

“CyberEducation 2002,” is available for $95 for members and $190 for non-members from the American Electronics Association.

The report from the American Electronics Association, which was released this month, draws its conclusions from extensive published national and state data—notably scores on the SAT, the ACT, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and government and private technology surveys.

The 3,500 companies represented by the Washington-based association are worried about their future workforce, said Michaela D. Platzer, the AEA’s vice president of research, in explaining why the report was undertaken.

“We are an industry driven by knowledge, and people with high skills,” said Ms. Platzer, the author of the report. “Students aren’t developing skills necessary to succeed in this industry.”

The report, “CyberEducation 2002,” expands on a 1999 study that focused on higher education and the numbers of college graduates who majored in engineering, engineering technology, mathematics, and the sciences. “It’s a pipeline issue,” Ms. Platzer explained. “We can’t resolve the higher education problem without K-12 [improvements].”

The analysis concludes that the nation’s students are improving in math, more students are completing courses that prepare them for college, and more students are completing high school and earning college degrees. In addition, the report notes that nearly all states have implemented math and science standards.

These constitute “dramatic improvements” in education over the past 10 years, Ms. Platzer said.

The report also says that computers and Internet connections have become nearly ubiquitous in classrooms, although Ms. Platzer said it was premature to find evidence of a link between access to technology and gains in academic achievement.

Still, many of the gains schools have made are incomplete, the report concludes.

Technology in schools is often not integrated into classroom instruction, it finds. Science achievement lags, and improvements in math achievement need to continue, especially among female and minority students.

The report notes, for example, that although math scores are increasing, only 17 percent of 12th graders scored at or above “proficient” in math on the 2000 NAEP test. Meanwhile, 12th grade science scores have been falling.

And although 49 states have implemented standards in a number of subject areas, including science and math, the variability of those standards is considerable, Ms. Platzer said.

The state-by-state comparisons that make up much of the 153-page report show “it really is a mixed bag in terms of who’s doing well,” she said.

California, for instance, came out looking the worst in the report’s state-by-state section. The state fared “very poorly on a host of indicators, everything from technology use in the classroom, in which [it] ranks at the bottom,” to lagging behind in achievement tests. California is also near the bottom in high school graduation rates, Ms. Platzer said.

States at the top of the report’s list of academic achievement include Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska—states that are ethnically homogenous, rural, and low in population. But Massachusetts, a relatively urban state with a large, diverse population, also showed high achievement, Ms. Platzer noted.

South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, and North Dakota were the nation’s top-ranked states for technology use in the classroom.

The industry group held back from making policy recommendations.

“We trust educators,” Ms. Platzer said. “And there doesn’t seem to be one particular answer in terms of developing the best possible K-12 system.”

Douglas H. Clements, an education professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, said the industry report—like the report in 2000 from the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, known as the Glenn Commission—could be useful in communicating the needs of schools to the business community and policymakers.

—Andrew Trotter

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the January 30, 2002 edition of Education Week as School Gains Incomplete, Industry Report Finds

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
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
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

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

Student Achievement Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Improving Student Outcomes?
Answer 7 questions about improving student learning outcomes.
Student Achievement Spotlight Spotlight on Student Engagement & Hands-On Learning
This Spotlight will help you learn about reducing student ambivalence towards math, proven strategies for reengaging students, and more.


Student Achievement What the Research Says Next NAEP to Take Deeper Look at Poverty's Connection to Students' Achievement
Researchers say the new measure could yield a more accurate reading of how family income affects students' test scores.
5 min read
Glitch stylized photo of a white woman with a hood over her head.
iStock/Getty
Student Achievement Opinion Traditional Grading May Not Be as Straightforward as It Seems
It can demotivate students, reflect inaccurate learning, and be biased against slower learners, argues an equitable grading advocate.
9 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty