School Evaluation Summary

My district has contracted an outside consulting company to evaluate our level of technology integration this winter.  Among the staff, we've had a lot of conversation about what this evaluation will be, how it fits into the district's long-term plans, and what kind of scores we think we will get.  In spite of all the conversation, most staff have a fairly vague idea of what the evaluators will be looking for.  While I don't know what rubric the evaluators will be using, it was very enlightening to work through evaluating a school.  I feel like I have a much better idea of what the evaluators are likely to look for and can make a much more informed estimation of what the results of our evaluation may be.

I was pleased to see training and support are both included in the evaluation.  As I worked through evaluating a school, I was struck by how many subsections were indirectly affected by the training and resources available to teachers.  Workshops and support staff are not as easy a public relations sell as a new computer lab or a set of tablets for student use, but if the teachers don't know how to use the technology, it won't be used effectively or consistently.


I was also pleased to see student use is given significant weight in the evaluation rubric.  Technology should be used to improve student learning and to help students develop the skills they will need beyond high school, yet all too often this is ignored in technology purchases.  For example, a few years ago it was a significant point of pride for schools to have interactive whiteboards in their classrooms, in spite of the fact that they are typically used by teachers to enhance traditional lectures.  While such use has value, to use something as an example of technology integration, students, and not just teachers, must have true access to the technology.

Please note a pseudonym has been used for the school in these documents.

School Evaluation Summary

School Evaluation Survey