Colorado superintendents have recently become more vocal. They want more local control. They want to be in charge of making financial decisions for their districts. And they need support. They state, “It can’t be just us. We need parents and teachers and people who care about their communities to let legislators know they’re not willing for their local schools to be run this way,” Glass said.
I am guessing that these
superintendents would be even more vocal, and share more information, if we
could indeed get the parents and teachers to rally behind them. Dare I say,
that some of them might - just might - support opt out? I have always believed
that there are a lot of good folks at the top who also would speak out, if only
they had the backing to do so.
The article (see link above) continues by talking
about online standardized testing - an unfunded mandate:
While state lawmakers are keeping
the purse strings tight at one end, superintendents claim they’re forcing local
school districts to come up with money to pay for unfunded mandates. One of the
latest is the state and federal departments of education demanding that
standardized testing move online, but providing no money for schools to buy the
gear.
It will cost Eagle County Schools $2
million to buy the Google Chromebooks it will need. If each of Colorado’s
832,368 students get a $312 Google Chromebook, that unfunded mandate will cost
schools statewide $259,698,816.
260 million. Yes, you heard that
right.
My own district is purchasing
Chromebooks. I do wonder about the details of this purchase - what will
it cost? How long will they last?
I decided to dig a bit more into
Chromebooks and their costs. I came across another article where it
states: The price of the Chromebook is very attractive, but the potential
cost of extra bandwidth, including routers, switches, and servers might prove
to be excessively expensive, thus cancelling out the low per device cost.
So, 260 million for the Chromebooks,
which doesn't include all the infrastructure needed to allow the Chromebooks to
work. Hmmm...
I then found another article. This article discussed
Chromebook subscriptions ($720), warranties, support services - how do
these additional items weigh into the costs?
What about the cost of the tests at
30 bucks a pop?
And, the Chromebook is realistically
given a shelf life of 3 to 5 years - so, at that point, in a few years, in
order to feed the needs of the test, we buy more Chromebooks?
Right?
Susan Ohanian and Stephen Krashen
discuss the testing technology expenses for New York: If the New York figure
is extrapolated to the entire country, the cost to connect all children to the
internet will be at least 50 times the cost of connecting New York City alone,
or $25 billion (New York City enrolls one million students, the USA as a whole,
over 60 million). This is only to connect students to the internet. The
whistles and bells needed to do "computer adaptive testing" with
audio and video will cost more.
Of course, in 3 to 5 years, if this corporate
plan continues on full speed, it is doubtful that there will be much left of
public schools. Um, but that's the plan, right? Cash in while you can, right? What will be
left?
Just the students and the
Chromebooks (obsolete by then of course).
Thank you. I am a parent and I am continually baffled as to how so many others seem completely oblivious to expenditures on technology and testing materials in our schools. Could the complete lack of textbooks be a clue, a telling tip of this iceberg? So many just don't seem to be paying attention to this outrageous money-grab by corporations - even at the daily expense of their own children.
ReplyDeletePeg,
ReplyDeleteThe people who back this believe technology has the power to transform education much as it has transformed commerce in America. But in order for this transformation to occur, a basic shift must occur. In a traditional classroom, the teacher mediates the information and lessons, giving assignments, giving feedback and grades, readings and lectures and activities. In the modern technology-driven classroom, the teacher's role is reduced. The Chromebook or Amplify pad, or iPad becomes central. The device presents lessons sequenced according to the standards, and diligently records and analyzes every keystroke by each student. It notes errors, and assigns work accordingly. The teacher monitors the work, much as a supervisor in a factory might monitor dozens of workers as they work on different machines. This is supposed to result in a highly efficient learning environment. I think it will be profoundly alienating to many students.
Peg,
ReplyDeleteThe people who back this believe technology has the power to transform education much as it has transformed commerce in America. But in order for this transformation to occur, a basic shift must occur. In a traditional classroom, the teacher mediates the information and lessons, giving assignments, giving feedback and grades, readings and lectures and activities. In the modern technology-driven classroom, the teacher's role is reduced. The Chromebook or Amplify pad, or iPad becomes central. The device presents lessons sequenced according to the standards, and diligently records and analyzes every keystroke by each student. It notes errors, and assigns work accordingly. The teacher monitors the work, much as a supervisor in a factory might monitor dozens of workers as they work on different machines. This is supposed to result in a highly efficient learning environment. I think it will be profoundly alienating to many students.