April 2005 — SETDA
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Pennsylvania Provides Customized PETI Tools to Its EETT Grantees
Pennsylvania has focused its Enhancing Education Through
Technology (EETT) grants from the NCLB Act on literacy, mathematics, and the effective use of digital tools to engage learners and enable teachers to differentiate instruction. Thus far, reports from the field indicate that progress is being made on many of these fronts.
Pennsylvania’s teachers are now gaining proficiency in redesigning learning activities to leverage the potential of technology incrementally, while greater numbers of students are increasingly engaged in learning. More adminis-trators and teachers are also starting to use real-time data to inform instruction.
Unfortunately, not everyone is there yet. We know this because the Pennsyl-vania Department of Education (PDE) is analyzing each EETT grant recipient’s readiness to use technology effectively through a research project required by NCLB as a condition for receiving funds. Through our evaluator, the Metiri Group, Pennsylvania is offering a customized online version of SETDA’s Profiling Educational Technology Integration (PETI) suite of tools to all its EETT grantees, with the expectation that resultant data will provide insights into how schools can further optimize their EETT investments. There are six research questions driving the state evaluation:
1. Type of Use. How is education technology being implemented and used in elementary/secondary schools as a result of this grant? Did specific target populations make progress?
2. Teacher Practices. As a result of this grant: Has teacher technology proficiency increased? Are teachers better prepared to use research-based methods and technology in their professional practices? Have their instructional practices changed?
3. System Capacity. Has the EETT grant program increased the capacity of school leaders and school systems to incorporate effective uses of technology into teaching and learning?
4. Progress. As a result of the grant, were there changes in: classroom practices; levels of access to technology; engagement of students in learning; or school culture, including parent/community connections?
5. Learning Outcomes. What impact did the grant have on students’ academic achievement levels? Did students acquire the technology and other 21st century skills necessary to thrive in a high-tech society?
6.State Administration. Is this program being effectively administered?
The state's evaluator cross-matched Pennsylvania’s research questions to the PETI framework, and then modified the PETI instruments slightly to align to Pennsylvania’s EETT priorities. By deselecting and selecting clusters aligned to PETI indicators, Metiri maintained the validity and reliability of the instruments, while providing Pennsylvania with a suite of tools aligned to its unique EETT program.
The District View
All administrators and teachers involved in Pennsylvania’s EETT program are asked to participate in the surveys before the “treatment” begins in the school to collect baseline data. Data collection is then repeated periodically in those same schools with trend data reported over time.
