Journal #3: Assessment Made Easy

Zucker, A (2009).Assessment Made Easy. Learning and Leading with Technology, (June/July2009). 18-21.

The results the Denver School of Science and Technology were able to obtain with their innovative one-to-one laptop program are absolutely amazing. I started reading this article thinking to myself, "how is giving every student a laptop going to increase their chance of success?" Even though the idea seemed cool for the student, I didn't see how it would actually help them perform better. After reading, I came to discover that it wasn't the laptops themselves that made these students more successful but rather the teaching methods that were made possible because of them. Teachers were now able to grade and review tests (and problem areas on those tests) instantly while problems were still fresh in the minds of their students. Similarly, English instructors used "real time" editing to use actual writing samples from their students that day as the basis for editing workshops. Instructors at DSST use discussion forums as a way to get their less outgoing students involved in class discussions. Through these and other creative techniques, the school was able to produce unprecedented advancements in student graduation rates, test scores, and university acceptance.

What can this article tell us about the current state of our schooling system?
In this era of NCLB and increasing emphasis on standardized testing scores, the public school system has become remarkably rigid in trying to ensure uniformity in curriculum and teaching practices. Here, however, a school seems to have an utter disregard towards "teaching to the test" and is having phenomenal results. I think this exposes the need to refocus teaching efforts in finding ways to make learning fun, creative, and lasting.

Are the laptops necessary to have these results?
Although they may have played a crucial role, I don't think the laptops were absolutely necessary in getting these results. The laptops, in my opinion, merely served as a medium through which the school found creative ways to teach. The article even states that "a one-to-one laptop program in itself is unlikely to make a weak school into a strong one. To take advantage of computers, schools still need thoughtful administrators, high-quality teachers, an effective curriculum, and all the other components that make a school excellent."