Schools
Online Assessments Test the Limits of Public School Technology
Half of NJ districts lack adequate computers, Internet capacity.
As New Jersey moves toward a whole new battery of online testing, starting in 2014, a big obstacle stands in the way: At least half of its public school districts don’t yet have the necessary technology.
In a survey this spring and summer, the state Department of Education found that just half of the districts had the estimated bandwidth needed for the testing and only half were using adequate operating systems.
New Jersey officials yesterday said they were likely to do follow-up surveys to determine the needs, school by school, adding that it was premature to determine what steps would be taken next.
Find out what's happening in South Brunswickfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The state’s Assistant Commissioner for Innovation, Evo Popoff, said at a meeting of school superintendents last week that he was not discouraged by the results and there would be a “far-reaching effort” to train staff and wire schools.
Still, it is just another of the daunting tasks facing New Jersey schools as the state shifts to new curriculum guidelines under the Common Core State Standards and the online testing it will bring beginning in the 2014-2015 school year.
Find out what's happening in South Brunswickfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
New Jersey is part of a consortium of two dozen states -- known as Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) -- that relies heavily on computer-based testing as many as four times a year.
The survey, conducted between May and June to determine districts’ capabilities for secure and reliable online testing, asked questions ranging from current costs to details about Internet carriers. More than 90 percent of districts responded.
There was a great deal of focus on how much bandwidth is available to districts, given that large numbers of students will be taking the Internet-based assessments at the same time. In his presentation last week, Popoff said 100 Mbps of bandwidth would likely be more than adequate, yet the survey found that just 51 percent of schools had that much. In terms of districts, it was less than half.
Continue reading on NJSpotlight.com.
NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.
