Monday, February 6, 2006

The tech-literacy twist

They're bombarded with it every day, but can students put computer data to good use? A test that some high school students will begin taking this year could answer that question.

JUSTIN POPE

The Associated Press

When it comes to downloading music and instant messaging, today's students are plenty tech-savvy. But that doesn't mean they know how to make good use of the endless stream of information that computers put at their fingertips.

Educators and employers call those skills "technology literacy," and while everyone agrees it's important to have, it also is difficult to measure.

Now a test that some high school students will begin taking this year could help.

The ICT Literacy Assessment touches on traditional skills, such as analytical reading and math, but with a technological twist. Test-takers, for instance, may be asked to query a database, compose an e-mail based on their research, or seek information on the Internet and decide how reliable it is.

The test's initials stand for "Information and Communication Technology," and a version is already used by some colleges. Last Friday, the nonprofit Educational Testing Service was to announce details of a new version that some high school and first- and second-year college students will begin taking this spring.

Most metro Tucson school districts have some form of technology literacy assessment.

ETS also designs and administers the SAT, but says this isn't designed as an admissions test. Rather, the goal is to show schools whether their students know how to use technology effectively and responsibly.

But the exam may prove difficult to sell to schools in an era of tight budgets and concern about overtesting. And "technology literacy" skills aren't as precisely testable as, say, geometry.

Still, Princeton, N.J.-based ETS says educators increasingly recognize the three R's have to be mastered not just on paper, but also as part of the tech-heavy 21st-century workplace. Education officials in at least two states - Texas and West Virginia - are monitoring early results to see if the test would be useful.

"Students know how to do a lot of things with their iPod, but what is the educational value of accessing a lot of information?" said Anita Givens, senior director for instructional materials and educational technology at the Texas Education Agency, which is also considering whether the test could help evaluate teachers. "Having a lot of information at your fingertips is like going to the library and not reading anything."

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