 
|
||
|
|
|
| News
'Pilot Program': Paddock project to aid in reading assessment Reprinted from The
Milan News-Leader (April 18, 2002) Teachers could hold the secret to better education in the palm of their hands. At least, at Paddock Elementary, that soon will be the case. Technology may be taking on a larger role in todayıs educational system, but its size seems to be getting smaller. Just ask the teachers at Paddock Elementary, who have recently completed several hours of training in the use of "Palm Pilots," small, handheld devices, which they will use to assist in student reading assessments. The new program is intended to create a paperless testing system that will provide instant results and help teachers decide the best way to instruct children on an individual basis. "For 2 years, Paddock has been testing children in grades 1-4 with the Qualitative Reading Inventory," said Paddock Principal Bill Loyd. "It is a paperı test, the results of which have to be written out by the teacher, input into a system by someone in the office, and then the data is analyzed by someone at the University of Michiganıs Combined Department of Psychology and Education. The results of the analysis are later sent back to the school. This palm pilot system will take that test and allow us to get data instantly and cut down on man hours while providing more detailed information." The palm pilot program, initiated by Wireless Generations, is a pilot program that is being tested at two locations in MichiganPaddock is one. The program allows a child to take the QRI™ test individually with the teacher and the results are automatically put into the palm pilot. The test is "rich" in that it allows teachers to describe the kinds of mistakes the child has made and as a result can determine the individual educational needs of the child. "Teachers administer the QRI in the fall and spring," continued Loyd. "We get a picture of a point in time and a studentıs growth over an academic year. The test looks at reading fluency, including rate and accuracy. It allows the teachers to indicate the kinds of mistakes the student makes so they can plan instruction accordingly. This includes reading comprehension and retelling a passage." On the desk there was a pile of yellow and white test papers about five or six inches high. The stack may not look tall for a yearıs worth of reading tests, but it represents an immeasurable amount of man-hours and less information than the palm pilots can provide. Once the information is downloaded onto Wireless Generationıs secure website, teachers can instantly see the test results. "One key issue is that this gets the information back to the teacher who can individualize instruction almost instantly," said Loyd. "It opens up for other types assessments in the future." Jennia Nally is a second grade teacher at Paddock Elementary. As the schoolıs liaison with Wireless Generations, she is helping to work out any bugs in the system, but so far, she is very pleased with the results. "I am extremely impressed with this system," said Nally. "It makes a teachers life much easier. Itıs easy to use and shortens the time span of testing. It enables parents to get detailed information about their childıs progress and helps with instruction. Its very exciting." The palm pilot program was paid for out of the technology budget and costs about $10 per student. Considering the savings in man-hours alone, it is a bargain for the schools. "Weıre very excited about the program," said Loyd. "I hope that we will continue to use it in the future. It has great potential for other uses as well." The program starts in May at Paddock. Once the pilot program ends and the results are determined by Wireless Generations, it will be evaluated and put into general distribution for schools throughout the country. |
||