Utah schools get a C for tech

Utah schools do a great job in using technology to analyze test scores, but they're pretty close to rock bottom in the country for computers in the classroom and testing teachers to ensure they can use technology to help students learn.

The Beehive State's extremes result in a C average and 38th place among the states and the District of Columbia in the 2006 Technology Counts report, "The Information Edge: Using Data to Accelerate Achievement," released Thursday.

The report is compiled by the national Education Week magazine; analyses were conducted by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. The report is annual, but this is the first time it has graded states in school technology leadership, including access, use and capacity to use technology.

State Office of Education spokesman Mark Peterson is not surprised with Utah's grades. He attributes the shortcomings to class size — Utah has the nation's largest — and school decisions to fund computer labs rather than classroom machines.

But, he and others note, Utah schools are using technology to teach children, from distance courses through universities to day-to-day lessons.

"Reports that count computers . . . do not really cut the surface of what we're doing with technology," said Linda Mariotti, assistant superintendent overseeing instructional services in the Granite School District.

The report lauds Utah for giving teachers technology to analyze test performance as a way to improve education. The state also recently created unique student identification codes to track students when they move — especially needed for the Utah Basic Skills Competency test, which is linked to high school diplomas, and to analyze academic growth for the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students — plus dropout and other student data, the report states.

"Data alone cannot make a difference in learning unless it is collected, shared and used effectively," research center director Christopher B. Swanson said in a prepared statement. "Right now, educators in 15 states have no more information or analysis than is available to parents and the general public."

Utah is not among them.

Utah also got a gold star for being among four states requiring that students test their technological prowess and is one of 22 states to have a virtual school.