The U.S. Department of Education has released a study which concludes that spending on education technology does not help student achievement. No surprise there! A successful implementation plan is what results in student achievement, and technology may or may not be one of the tools used by that plan. That's why it is a shame that nobody still in the industry seems to understand or care about managed learning systems.
I wasn't able to find any information about the study on the DoE's website, other than their intent to fund such a study in 2004. I'm sure that they've never looked at NovaNET, which is really a product of too much complexity for them to understand -- the DoE has always thought of educational software as a flashcard drill or Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego.
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It also depends on how 'student achievement' is measured. I assume that this study used standardized tests as their definition of achievement. A better measure would be if technology helps students function in real life, the workforce and in college. Filling in a stupid bubble on a multiple choice test is the only skill the government seems to care about because it is easily measured.
Can you tell it is testing season?
It has ever been thus. It's pretty hard to find any studies that have shown a significant correlation between the availability of technology and the quality of education. A good teacher in a good school with a chalkboard will beat a shitty teacher in a shitty school with a million-dollar technology budget.
NPR airing a bit about this report now...
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