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Schools drop computer skills test

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

(Updated Saturday, September 19 - 10:05 am)

By J. Brian Ewing
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — A computer skills test will no longer be a roadblock to a high school diploma for North Carolina students.

School systems received word Wednesday that students who did not receive a high school diploma because they failed the computer test can petition for a diploma.

Legislators voted last month to stop requiring a passing grade on the computer competency test because of budget cuts and concerns that the test had lost much of its relevance.

“I think we’ve gone beyond the place where we ask, 'What is the purpose of the control key on a computer?’” said June Atkinson, state schools superintendent.

Atkinson said there needs to be a shift in how schools teach computer skills, moving toward integration into all curriculums, rather than separate course work.

Students have been tested on computer literacy in the eighth grade since 1996.

This year, 1,105 out of 5,395 eighth-graders in Guilford County failed the computer skills test.

The state also eliminated the third-grade reading and math competency pre-tests and the end-of-course tests for physics and chemistry. However, none of those exams was required for graduation.

Students who are still in school but failed the computer test in the eighth grade will not have to pass it to graduate.

Beth Folger, chief of academics with Guilford County Schools, agreed that some of the test had become irrelevant. The test used software developed for the state, rather than the commonly used platforms like those developed by Microsoft, Folger said.

But she said the test did have some merit.

“ Some of the things that they wanted students to learn was relevant, like sorting data bases and formatting text,” she said.
Folger said computer literacy has changed dramatically since the test was introduced, and Guilford County Schools was already planning to change how its schools approached the issue.

The school board supported Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green’s proposal this summer to eliminate technology teaching positions at middle schools. Those positions had helped eighth-graders prepare for the state computer test.

Instead, Green is using a few of those teachers to work with several schools to integrate computer skills education into every grade.

The state’s decision does leave several big question marks for school systems. No Child Left Behind , the federal education act, requires school districts to verify students’ computer literacy. Atkinson said state officials are working on that issue and will have a new system in place this school year.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com

UPDATE: This story has been corrected from its original version.

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gboro84

September 17, 2009 - 8:59 am EDT

So, we are going to help students learn by lowering the standards? It is said that 1/5 of students aren't able to type or to follow SIMPLE instructions. I always considered the computer literacy tests as vocational education. Computer literacy is an essential skill. Of course, we do have a number of new administrative positions and those poor guys need that $140,000 a year. If we eliminate the computer skills tests, we save money to pay the new admins with, plus, more students will be passing because all they have to do to earn a diploma is attend class. And if they don't want to attend class, they can meet attendence requirements by attending a laidback class where they will "learn" on the..uh...computer. Good deal for everyone involved!

Norm*

September 17, 2009 - 9:12 am EDT

They're right to eliminate the computer skills test for students. What needs to happen is integration of computer use into daily school life, just like the rest of the working world. That means the computer test should be given to teachers. You can't, or won't use email, get another job. You can't access the internet for additional class materials in every lesson, get another job. You can't make the work you assign available in a format that can be digital, get another job. Eliminating the Techno teachers from the schools is on target. Remove the crutch and excuse for classroom teachers who are either unable or unwilling to adapt to the use of computers and computer technology in their classroom. This also means a commitment to make computers available on a one to one basis for every student in the whole system, just like the real world. Face it, if you have a job, and you don't have access to a computer, you are on the margins. Students who aren't trained to utilize computers to learn, communicate, collaborate, produce, and share information (homework. . .) aren't employable. and for that matter, teachers who aren't should be marginalized also. Here's a laptop for every student program in Maine http://www.maine.gov/mlti/index.shtml

gboro84

September 17, 2009 - 11:08 am EDT

Norm, computer competency measures a students ability to navigate not just the web, but a computer's operating system and it also measures the ability to keyboard and ability to follow simple instructions. Computer use IS integrated into daily school life, just like mathematics and grammar, and no one is advocating the abolishment of those competency tests. You want computer skills integrated into school life? What in the world do you think a program that teaches and tests for computer literacy is for? By the way, the schools arent eliminating the "techno" teachers. Technology programs are not and should not be cut along with computer skills testing. There are no teachers that are unwilling to adapt to internet/class integrattion. We could have more computers in the classrooms by eliminating unneccessary administrative positions that have recently added, without detrement to the curriculum. You talk about students not being able to use computers are hindered in the workforce, again, some of these students only exposure to keyboarding and operating systems navigation are through the competency training and testing.

art4kids

September 17, 2009 - 9:26 pm EDT

Of course computer literacy is an essential skill, but think -- what kind of computer were you using in 1996? Find a users' manual for any computer system from the mid-90's (if you can) and see if you aren't blown away by its irrelevance to current technology literacy. Consider for a moment that not only were very few schools connected to the internet back when this outdated test was written, but truly consider that pencils are also a form of technology. Do we have "pencil labs" where kids go to learn about how they're made, and what the number on the shaft means? A student's literacy in any area should be measured in their ability to APPLY their skills in all areas of life and learning, not the regurgitation of random facts out of context. You can complain that administrator positions (necessitated by the mountain of NCLB paper-pushing) cost taxpayers money, but the real reason any school in this position might not be meeting society's needs could be because of a lack of curriculum updates.

greensboro mom no more

September 17, 2009 - 9:04 am EDT

I COULD NOT HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF!

P.S. WHY NOT CUT OUT MATH ALSO; JUST LET KIDS LEARN TO COUNT BY GOING TO THE STORE.

rooster8786

September 17, 2009 - 12:06 pm EDT

No child left behind strikes again. If they're unable to pass an exam, cut out the exam! How appropriate! It's no wonder a simple college degree now replaces a HS diploma and a Masters degree replaces the former BS degree.

Garth

September 17, 2009 - 2:19 pm EDT

I reviewed computer skills test...much better to teach nothing at all. I would prefer a more applicable regimen and a test such as this did little to provide functional skills to students. It sounded good on paper, then, when you saw what was taught and tested as “computer skills” you would run screaming for an asylum. Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic!

I’m a computer geek and believe real computer and logic skills essential, but only in proper context. It was another case of a good idea screwed up by state legislature, incompetent political appointees and an illiterate entrenched bureaucratic hive of parasites. Sorry, but getting rid of this test was a step in academic improvement.

Lisa1952

September 20, 2009 - 9:05 am EDT

Now that we have cut the computer test maybe we can teach them to read?
Yes, lots of 8th graders can't pass any kind of test because we socially promote them and they CAN'T read...... but silly me.
I wonder if anyone really pays attention to the fact that children who don't read by 3rd grade are lost......