Evaluation of Educational Technology in Kentucky Middle Schools.

The Kentucky Institute for Educational Research has created six different Innovation Configuration Component (ICC) maps that describe the implementation of educational reforms in Kentucky in the context of the Kentucky Educational Reform Act. As part of a general study of progress toward educational goals in Kentucky, an investigation was conducted of the use of the ICC map to describe educational technology used in middle schools in Kentucky and, if the map could be used, the nature of the relationship between the level of implementation of educational technology and Kentucky's high-stakes assessment of academic achievement. Ten middle schools representing 5 levels of performance were followed longitudinally, and data from the ICC technology map compared with the results were of teacher interviews. In the sample of schools studied, there was a positive relationship between the degree of implementation of education technology in a school and achievement gains posted by the school's students, but it could not be determined whether the gains were a function of the implementation of the technology. The implementation of educational technology may be a marker of a school's willingness to implement reforms. Findings also suggest that another iteration of the ICC Map of Educational Technology would be appropriate to reflect the actual situation in the schools more accurately. (Contains 2 figures, 6 tables, and 12 references.) (SLD)