Nevada is ranked last in classroom technology

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, May 5, 2005 | 11:03 a.m.

When it comes to making school computers available to students, Nevada ranks last in the nation, according to a new report released today.

Education Week's "Technology Counts 2005" report compared student access to classroom computers, portable devices and the Internet, as well as how active states had been in establishing technology standards and funding programs.

Nevada fared poorly when it came to the availability of computers for students.

In 2004, Nevada had 5.7 students for every one instructional computer used by schools. The national average was 3.8 students per instructional computer.

Nevada also ranked last in providing students access to Internet-connected computers, with a ratio of 6.1 to 1. The national average was 4.1 students for each Internet-connected computer.

When only classroom computers were counted, Nevada ranked second to last with a ratio of 13.1 students per classroom computer. The national average was 7.6 students per classroom omputer.

Phil Brody, assistant superintendent of technology and information systems services for the Clark County School District, said "virtually every classroom" in Southern Nevada has a computer with Internet access.

"We're a very well-connected district," Brody said.

Tallying up just classroom computers, rather than the state's entire inventory, probably paints a more accurate picture of student access, Brody said. When Clark County submitted its technology inventory to the state, data later forwarded to Education Week's researchers, the list included every piece of equipment regardless of condition or whether it was actually in use, Brody said.

Counted in the inventory were older models with "limited functionality" that may not be capable of running the latest versions of software, along with equipment slated for repair or replacement, Brody said. It also included equipment in campus computer labs, shared by the entire school.

When all of the equipment is counted, the district's student-to-computer ratio is about 5-to-1, Brody said.

But Clark County's ratio of students per working classroom computer is likely twice the state's average of 13.1-to-1, Brody said.

"That's the reality of our class sizes," Brody said.

The state's student-computer ratios aren't likely to improve anytime soon, said Keith Rheault, Nevada's superintendent of public instruction.

The state is struggling just to maintain existing levels of support for school technology, Rheault said. There hasn't been enough funding, either from the state or the federal government, to purchase new equipment that would likely improve the student-computer ratio, Rheault said.

State education officials are hopeful the Legislature will approve Gov. Kenny Guinn's recommendation of $10 million for educational technology over the biennium. But that funding will come with specific provisions for how the money may be spent, with the bulk directed toward infrastructure, Rheault said.

Another factor expected to hamper Nevada is President Bush's recommendation to eliminate educational technology grants to states. Nevada received $2.5 million in federal grants in 2005, money that went to upgrade computer systems in rural districts and train teachers in the latest software.

The president's recommendation is based on the argument by some education officials that enhanced classroom technology hasn't translated into tangible improvements in student achievement, said Kevin Bushmiller, project manager for the education journal's report.

"There's a lot of debate about that," Bushmiller said. "One of the problems the White House has had is the amount of money that's been spent on educational technology over the past 10 years or so, it hasn't had the effect they'd like to see."

Officials with the U.S. Department of Education have suggested states could shift funds from other federal grants to cover the cost of technology programs. But that argument, while familiar, doesn't fly, Rheault said.

"Every time the feds decide to cut something they tell us to shift money from Title I or another grant if we want to keep programs going," Rheault said. "But if you take money away from hiring teacher aides to pay for technology, it's a terrible trade-off. We know there's some flexibility in where we spend those dollars but ultimately somebody's on the losing end of the deal."

Christy Falba, director of mathematics, science and instructional technology for the Clark County School District, said her "heart broke" when she learned of the proposed elimination of the federal grants.

"It's difficult to isolate the effect of technology on student learning, it's not a silver bullet," Falba said. "But there have been studies that show classroom technology increases student motivation, improves higher-ordered thinking and encourages collaborative work. Those are things we want from our kids but it's hard to measure on a standardized test."

The demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act are changing how states prioritize spending for educational technology, Bushmiller said.

In many of the nation's larger districts stocking up on classroom computers and software is taking a backseat to building online databases to track student performance, Bushmiller said.

The federal education law requires schools to show "adequate yearly progress" both overall and by various subgroups of students, including ethnic groups, low-income and special education status. By the 2013-14 academic year 100 percent of students are supposed to be testing at grade level in reading and mathematics. Schools, districts and states that fail to meet benchmarks face sanctions, including the possible loss of federal funding.

"Data management has an obvious benefit because you can look at student performance in reading and math and adjust classroom instruction accordingly," Bushmiller said during a conference call Wednesday with reporters. "It's not just being used for high stakes testing although that probably prodded the purchase."

The Clark County School District appears to have been ahead of the curve when it comes to using technology to track student achievement. After a year of preparation and staff training, the district unveiled a new instructional data management system for the 2003-04 academic year. The online program allows teachers to test students and get immediate feedback as to their comprehension of material, rather than waiting for the results of annual standardized tests.

The district's virtual high school, which currently serves about 4,500 students annually with a full-time enrollment of 150, also scored points with Education Week's evaluators. Another strong mark for Nevada was that 6.2 percent of schools have students using hand-held digital assistants well above the national average of 3.8 percent. That list of campuses includes Walter Bracken Elementary School in Las Vegas, where students in the science and technology magnet program are issued Palm Pilots for special assignments.