Why technology doesn’t improve standardized test scores

In A Flawed Measure of Ed Tech, BusinessWeek reports on the recently released Department of Education study that shows no improvement in standardized test scores for students who used software that’s supposed to improve reading and math skills. The problem with this study is it only looks at certain software that has a narrow focus on training students for standardized tests. Simply put – this is ludicrous. The magic of technology is that it works for students with a variety of learning styles instead of requiring them to learn in a style that isn’t optimal, and that’s the opposite of training for standardized tests. So using technology to train for a rigid method of analysis that many of the most influential educational theorists have said is flawed and outdated, and then blaming technology when scores don’t improve is just misguided.

So if technology isn’t working according to this survey, one would think that efforts would be redoubled to find out how best to use technology in education. But that’s not the case in Washington. The latest latest Iraq war bill cuts funding for the Enhancing Education Through Technology program (EETT), which funds some of the most innovative uses of technology to improve and transform learning. So the administration says technology doesn’t work, but also cuts funding for it. Hypocritical, no?