Timeline Relevant to Assessing Essential Technology Skills

1. Between December 1996 and March 1997, university faculty from both public and private institiutions will work with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to develop Version A of an Essential Technology Skills Inventory (ETSI) that includes modified items from the 8th grade computer skills test and new items developed to round out the assessment so that it covers all essential technology skills identified in the School Technology Users Task Force Report.

2. By April, 1997, all institutions of higher education (IHEs) in North Carolina with teacher education programs will administer Version A to all preservice teachers who intend to apply for licensure after April 1997. Students will be required to take the ETSI, which will be administered locally at no cost to them. Results will not be used to make decisions on licensure. Rather, the assessment results will be used by IHEs to modify curriculum, by DPI to refine the assessment, and by both University and DPI staff to inform the State Board of Education (SBE), the University Board of Governers (BOG), and the North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NCAICU) on the degree to which teacher education graduates of North Carolina IHEs are competent in essential technology skills as measured by the Essential Technology Skills inventory.

3. Betweem April and August 1997, Version B of the ETSI will be developed and administered; between August and November, Version C will be developed and administered. Data from these field tests will be used to further modify curriculum, improve the ETSI, and inform the SBE, BOG and NCAICU. Based on these iterations, Version D--the final version of the ETSI--will be completed by March, 1998.

4. Between December 1997 and March 1998, after sufficient input from all stakeholders, cut scores for the ETSI will be recommended to the SBE.

5. Version D of the ETSI will then be administered and used as one criterion for licensing all preservice teachers from both in- and out-of-state who apply for initial licensure after April 1998.

6. The Essential Technology Skills Inventory will need updating, given the rapid advances in technology. Indeed, given the technology advances in k-12 education, the ETSI may be antiquated within a few years.

1. Between November 1996 and March 1997, University faculty from both public and private institutions will work with DPI staff to develop broad criteria and general procedures for assessing instructional designs that use Advanced technology skills to enhance student learning. A team on each campus of University faculty and public school teachers will use the criteria to assess students' Advanced technology skills as represented in students' portfolios or other displays of student work.

2. In March and April 1997, trained teams in each IHE (public and private) of faculty and classroom teachers will evaluate samples of students' instructional work products to (1) field-test the assessment criteria and procedures, (2) modify curriculum as needed, and (3) assess the degree to which beginning teachers are becoming competent in their use of Advanced technology skills to enhance student learning.

3. Between April 1997 and April 1998, University faculty will work with Department of Public Instruction staff and with the University/public school teams to further refine the criteria and procedures for assessing students' work products. University faculty will continue to work with their students to increase their Advanced technology competencies.

4. Beginning in April 1998, University deans will provide assurances to the State Board of Education, the UNC Board of Governors, and the North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges and Universities that, when graduates apply for initial licensure, they have demonstrated Advanced technology competencies to the satisfaction of the faculty/teacher teams that will have assessed each preservice teacher's portfolio or display of instructional and curriculum products that incorporate technology.