States erratic on IT literacy

Lack of oversight hinders enforcement
By Laura Ascione, Assistant Editor, eSchool News

"Among its other goals, the federal No Child Left Behind Act says that all students should be technology literate by the end of the eighth grade. Yet, nearly four years after the law was first implemented, states appear to be all over the map in terms of ensuring the technology proficiency of their students, an informal investigation by eSchool News has learned. And the federal government is unable to explain which states have taken which steps to meet the law's goals...

Lawmakers who drafted NCLB wanted to make sure that all students were exposed to computers and the internet and understood how to use these tools at an early age, so they would be prepared for a society and a workforce that are increasingly driven by technology. But unlike the law's mandates in the core curriculum areas, there are no testing requirements or accountability measures when it comes to ensuring technology literacy. Instead, states merely must certify that they are working to meet the law's tech-literacy goals before receiving federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) funds."