September 2004 — Industry Perspective
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‘Smart’ Technology Offers Schools New Solutions to Save Time and Money in the Changing Landscape of Education
Today’s schools are faced with a dual challenge. On one hand, school officials are confronted by the harsh reality of trying to do more with budgets that are either shrinking or, at best, not keeping pace with the school’s needs. Reverberations from the recent economic decline have been felt at the national, state and local levels; revenue reductions have translated into budget cuts nationwide. Educators in all states have had to search for ways to stretch every dollar, and they have been forced to make difficult choices along the way. This is because even with some fiscal relief at the federal level, states remain responsible for most K-12 funding, which totals about $146 billion per year.
At the same time, schools are increasingly focused on improving the American education system, at the core of which is the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Enacted in January 2002, NCLB represents the most profound change to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act since it became law in 1965.
NCLB’s basic yet lofty goals include overall improvement in student achievement, improvement of all subsets of students by soci'economic groupings, and attainment of a 100% proficiency goal for all schools by the 2013-2014 academic year. The great challenge for schools is finding a way to meet increasing pressure for accountability with fewer financial resources at their disposal. Fortunately, advances in technology offer new and innovative solutions to help schools address these challenges.
An often overlooked yet powerful way to meet these objectives is to leverage new technology in order to manage document flow and related tasks, including those associated with the NCLB testing and accountability requirements. Smart document management can help schools in several ways, including providing simple cost savings on printed output, automating testing to save money and improve student achievement, automating attendance, streamlining information distribution, and centralizing forms management.
Reducing Printing and Copying Costs
In terms of sheer cost savings, smart document management can have a substantial impact by helping schools manage and streamline their printing and copying processes. The reason is simple: studies indicate that the printing and copying line item in most schools’ operating budgets is among one of the larger expenditures. Whether a school employs centralized copying facilities, distributed ink-jet printers in classrooms, or some other combination of printing and copying devices, modern printer-duplicators and multifunction printers (MFPs) - coupled with automated job-routing firmware and software - can reduce printing and copying costs by directing the job to the most cost-effective output device. The difference in cost can be dramatic. This is good news for schools because those budget monies can be applied to other critical areas or eliminated completely to close a budget shortfall.
Automating the Testing Process
Although plans for meeting student achievement goals under NCLB differ from state to state, assessing student progress is a key element in improving achievement levels. Automated testing technology assists schools by computerizing the process and delivering faster results for a fraction of the cost of other assessment methods. Assessment can be performed at several levels, including:
