Mark White's Page

As we race to place technology in the hands of students in our schools, let’s consider an alternative view. The New York Times published an article on its front page on October 23, 2011, titled A Silicon Valley School that Doesn’t Compute (by Matt Richtel; at…

As an American educator, I’ve lived with the changes that have come to our profession in the past twenty-five years. Today’s students are the most tested students of any generation in American history, and our educators are facing accountability measures unlike anything ever imagined by their predecessors. We have spent our careers working in a system that places its highest values on high test scores.

When schools make dramatic upgrades in technology, observers frequently hope the upgrades will increase student scores on state tests, and then they are disappointed when the scores remain stagnant. But is that the main reason we need to get more technology into the hands of students? To raise test scores?

 

I think people who link education technology and state test scores are missing the…