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Texas Education Agency Names Learning.com to Assess Students’ Technology Skills

Pilot program aimed at helping educators understand how well students are mastering state standards

Portland, Ore. – June 30, 2008
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has selected Learning.com to assess students’ technology proficiency in a two-year pilot program in a sampling of Texas school districts. The state is using Learning.com’s TechLiteracy Assessment, an authentic online assessment that measures and reports students’ technology proficiency.

Legislation requiring this pilot was passed by the 2007 Texas Legislature. The pilot will assess students in participating school districts in either fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth or ninth grades. Testing began in April 2008, and will continue through December 2009. Some 7,200 students will be tested during the two-year pilot.

“We look forward to helping Texas assess their eighth grade students through TechLiteracy Assessment,” says William J. Kelly, Learning.com CEO. “Understanding how well students grasp critical technology skills will help Texas continue to be a national leader in teaching students how to excel in technology.”

The state defines a “technology literate student” as a student who meets the requirements of the state’s Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TA-TEKS). Texas, however, does not have a standard statewide process for assessing students’ mastery of technology literacy to be reported to TEA. TechLiteracy Assessment provides the participating schools, through this pilot, with that measurement tool to help them understand how well students are mastering the mandated Texas technology standards. TechLiteracy Assessment is aligned to both ISTE NETS-S and Texas’ technology standards.

TechLiteracy Assessment was introduced in 2006 by Learning.com to provide a district-wide solution for measuring technology proficiency for elementary and middle school students. Designed to be delivered in one class period, it blends multiple choice questions and interactive, performance-based items to authentically assess students’ technology knowledge and skills. The assessment helps districts meet federal and state accountability requirements, pinpoint district and school technology challenges that need addressing, and better understand teaching strategies that support technology skill development.

The technology assessment has won the prestigious 2007 SIIA CoDIE Award and the 2006 Technology & Learning Award of Excellence.

For more information go to www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/techlitassessment

About Learning.com
Learning.com, the premier provider of Web-delivered curriculum and assessment, partners with schools and districts to improve student learning outcomes. The Portland, Ore.-based company transforms learning experiences through its understanding of the art and science of Web-based teaching and learning. Founded in 1999, it serves nearly two million students in schools across the United States. Its award-winning solutions are EasyTech, a proven, K-8 technology literacy curriculum that helps students develop and apply technology skills in math, language arts, social studies and science; TechLiteracy Assessment, an authentic technology proficiency assessment that provides educators with the data to understand how well students grasp foundational technology skills; and Aha!Math, an interactive K-5 supplemental math curriculum that supports teachers to improve students’ foundational math skills while developing their higher level problem-solving and reasoning skills. For more information, please visit www.learning.com or call 800-580-4640.