Vint Cerf, who is often called the “father of the Internet” for his contribution to creating its technical protocols and architecture, will have a hand in developing a framework for the first nationwide technology literacy assessment of U.S. students, as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
That’s the inside scoop from Steven A. Schneider, of WestEd, which on Oct. 6 was awarded the contract by the National Assessment Governing Board to develop the framework and specifications for the test.
The assessment, which will be first offered on a pilot basis in 2012, will be “totally computer-based,” Schneider, WestEd’s senior program director for math, science, and technology, told Digital Education.
WestEd, located in Redwood City, Calif., developed the framework for the NAEP science assessment.
The NAGB has stated that a technological literacy assessment is needed to understand U.S. students’ ability to compete in a global marketplace and keep pace with quickly evolving technology.
Cerf, 65, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom who now works for Google Inc., will be on the steering committee for the 18-month project to develop the framework. There will also be a planning committee that meets more frequently.
Names of other members of the committee have not been released but will represent a broad spectrum of expertise, Schneider said. Both panels will have their first meeting in mid-December.
Schneider added that the effort will draw on many experts and groups, including the International Technology Education Association, the International Society for Technology in Education, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the State Educational Technology Directors Association, and the Council of Chief State School Officers, as well as the more than 10 states that now have assessments for technological literacy, he said.
