Ed-Tech Policy

Technology Report Tracks Spending Shift

By Kevin Bushweller — May 03, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

States are spending millions of dollars to build powerful new data-management systems to help them keep up with the reporting requirements and student-achievement goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, an Education Week report set for release this week has found.

See Also

See the related report,

Electronic Transfer

Today’s growing emphasis on data-management applications is overshadowing the technology priorities of past years, when states and schools focused on putting better instructional technologies—such as personal computers and learning software—into classrooms, according to the newspaper’s Technology Counts 2005 report, titled Electronic Transfer: Moving Technology Dollars in New Directions.

“States are betting the farm on new data-management systems in hopes of keeping up with No Child Left Behind,” said Virginia B. Edwards, the editor and publisher of Education Week and of the technology report. “But it remains to be seen whether these investments will have a greater effect on student achievement than investments in instructional software and hardware.”

The report is the eighth edition of the newspaper’s annual examination of educational technology.

In a survey for Technology Counts 2005 by the Education Week Research Center, 15 states reported that the 3-year-old federal education law had influenced their decisions to set up more powerful and sophisticated data-management systems. The report suggests that other states are also considering similar spending decisions. State officials hope those systems will yield information needed to give teachers new strategies for raising student achievement.

The survey also found that 16 states consider data management one of their top two priorities for technology spending.

Federal Tilt

Underlying this spending trend, the report says, is a philosophical shift in the White House concerning the role of technology in education. During the Clinton administration, federal leaders largely viewed technology as a way to open new educational horizons. Now, under the Bush administration and the demands of the No Child Left Behind law, the emphasis is on technology as a tool for analyzing achievement data.

At the same time, continuing budget problems in many states are forcing them to focus their technology spending more narrowly, the report found.

The report includes educational technology statistics and analyses about each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Teaching Students to Use Artificial Intelligence Ethically
Ready to embrace AI in your classroom? Join our master class to learn how to use AI as a tool for learning, not a replacement.
Content provided by Solution Tree

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Ed-Tech Policy Opinion How to Become an Ed-Tech Visionary Without Really Trying
Beware of PR grifters eager to turn education pros into A-list-worthy celebs. (And read the fine print.)
4 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy Should Schools Have Cellphone Restrictions for Teachers Too?
Schools expect teachers to model responsible cellphone use.
4 min read
Illustration of a young woman turning off her mobile phone which is even bigger than she is.
iStock/Getty
Ed-Tech Policy Here's When Most Americans Think Cellphones Should Be Banned
Banning cellphones during class is very popular with American adults.
5 min read
A student uses their cell phone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in San Mateo, Calif. Gavin Newsom sent letters Tuesday, Aug. 13, to school districts, urging them to restrict students’ use of smartphones on campus.
A student uses a cellphone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2024.
Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Ed-Tech Policy Cellphone Restrictions Are Coming to California Schools
A new law requires all public schools in California to limit students' access to cellphones during the school day.
2 min read
Young girl using a cellphone in class. On her desk is an open notebook and a pencil.
skynesher / iStock/Getty