th
8
Grade
Technology Competency
Test
Michelle Obert
Instructional Technology Specialist
mobert@mcsdga.net
The goal for the Georgia Department of Education's Office of Instructional Technology is
to support the GaDOE’s mission by:
•Helping educators meet the needs of 21st Century Learners by engaging students in
authentic learning experiences and preparing them for the workplace of the future;
•Creating 21st Century Learning Environments; and
•Providing teachers with diverse and innovative instructional strategies and
pedagogical tactics to implement these strategies effectively.
The Office of Instructional Technology programs are designed to assist every student
– regardless of race, ethnicity, income, geographical location, or disability – in
becoming technologically literate by the end of eighth grade, while providing
opportunities for all students to improve their technology literacy through 12th
grade. The Instructional Technology initiatives are focused on encouraging effective
technology integration, promoting research-based instructional curriculum methods,
and supporting quality professional development that supports the integration of
technology with the new Georgia Performance Standards.
NEW! 8th Grade Technology Literacy Assessment Option
offered through GaDOE!
The GaDOE, in response to requests from local schools and LEAs,
has developed an OPTIONAL 8th grade Technology Literacy
assessment. This assessment is one more choice for schools to
consider when addressing the NCLB requirement to report 8th
grade tech literacy. The Georgia Virtual School and the Office of
Technology Services, Title II-D, for the GaDOE have collaborated
to create three 60 question assessments addressing the
technology standard requirements. These assessments will be
accessible through the Office of Standards, Instruction, and
Assessment's Online Assessment System (OAS).
(http://www.georgiaoas.org)
Georgia Technology Literacy Defined
Technology literacy is the ability of students to use the tools of
their society with skill in an ethical, accurate, and insightful
manner to meet the demands of the 21st Century workplace and
world. This includes the ability to use appropriate technology
responsibly to solve problems and to create knowledge and
learning by:
•Accessing
•Managing
•Evaluating and Analyzing
•Integrating and Synthesizing, and
•Communicating information
Required Components
It is the responsibility of each LEA or school to develop the definition, criteria,
and assessment, and then document the technology literacy proficiency level
of each eighth grade student at the completion of each school year. Districts
will be expected to report the measures on an annual basis. This
documentation will be collected and reviewed beginning in the 2006-2007
school year. Based on this documentation, every district should be prepared
to report the following:
1. Method of assessment used by the school district to determine
mastery/competency.
2. Number of students assessed on 8th Grade Tech Literacy skills.
3. Number of students who achieved mastery/competency on 8th Grade Tech
Literacy skills.
4.Number of students who were NOT assessed on 8th Grade Tech Literacy
skills.
Why Technology Literacy is Important - NCLB
The portion of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act known as
'Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001' (E2T2)
has a goal: To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by
ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time
the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's
race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or
disability.
The Georgia Department of Education considers this a local
control issue to be defined by each district. The GaDOE Office of
Instructional Technology developed this website to assist school
systems in determining how to assess student technology
literacy.
Who Will Test This Year 2008-2009
th
5
Grade
th
8 Grade
th
10 Grade
Test Dates and Login
•http://georgiaoas.org
•Monday, Nov. 3- Friday, Nov. 21, 2008
•Teacher Login: Email ID + mcsd;
Example: mobertmcsd
Password: email password
•Student Login: GTID
Example: 999999999
Password: initpass
Preparing to Test
• Create a class for each teacher
(If you want to view the data by teacher.)
• Enroll students in the appropriate class
• List students that need a User ID for OAS
• Create a User ID for students not in the OAS
• GTID should be used for the Student ID
• The default password is “initpass”
• Create a User ID for teachers who are not in the OAS
• “Email ID” followed by “mcsd” is used for Teacher ID
Preparing to Test
• The GA 8th Grade Technology Competency Test 1 has
been assigned to all students in the OAS System in 5th,
8th and 10th grade.
• The test must be administered online via the GA OAS
site
• Distribute User IDs and Passwords to teachers and
students
• Instruct users to access the site via the Novell app
object labeled “GA OAS”
Preparing to Test
• Check all computers to be used for testing to make
sure that ALL pop-up blockers are disabled
• Testing Window is
Monday, November 3 – Friday, November 21
• Note that Tuesday, November 4 is a Teacher In
Service day
• Test results are compiled over the weekend for GA
OAS tests that contain Level 3 items
• Test results will be available on Monday of the week
following testing
Accessing the Report Data
• The test data will be located under the “Reports” tab
• Select “Benchmark and School System Level
Reporting”
• Then select the type of report to view
For Questions or Assistance
Contact
Michelle Obert at mobert@mcsdga.net
or
Jana Reese at jreese@mcsdga.net
or
MCSD Technology Academy at 706-569-3777