When Ed Reformers Want You to Ignore Test Scores
In a well-written story about one Arizona school district’s commitment to classroom technology, New York Times reporter Matt Richtel reported that Kyrene School Districts test scores were stagnant. No problem says one US Department of Education official:
Karen Cator, director of the office of educational technology in the United States Department of Education, said standardized test scores were an inadequate measure of the value of technology in schools. Ms. Cator, a former executive at Apple Computer, said that better measurement tools were needed but, in the meantime, schools knew what students needed.
“In places where we’ve had a large implementing of technology and scores are flat, I see that as great,” she said. “Test scores are the same, but look at all the other things students are doing: learning to use the Internet to research, learning to organize their work, learning to use professional
