Evaluation of the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot: An Analysis of Second-Year (2005-06) Implementation

The Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP), a project sponsored by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), leverages federal Title II, Part D funds to support a wireless learning environment for high-need middle schools. A concurrent research project funded by a federal Evaluating State Educational Technology Programs grant is evaluating whether student achievement improves over time as a result of exposure to technology immersion. The Texas Center for Educational Research (TCER)--a non-profit research organization in Austin--is the TEA's primary partner in this four-year endeavor that began in the 2004-05 school year and will continue through 2007-08. Technology immersion encompasses multiple components, including a laptop computer for every middle school student and teacher, wireless access throughout the campus, curricular and assessment resources, professional development and ongoing pedagogical support for curricular integration, and technical support for immersion. The overarching purpose of the study is to scientifically investigate the effectiveness of technology immersion in increasing middle school students' achievement in core academic subjects (English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies) as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). The study also examines relationships that exist among contextual conditions, technology immersion, intervening factors, and academic achievement. Accordingly, researchers have annually conducted site visits to treatment and control campuses in order to better understand initial conditions and changes over time. Visits to campuses in fall 2004 and spring 2005 established the comparability of treatment and control schools and documented first-year implementation. In spring 2006, follow-up site visits to each of the 22 immersion and 22 control schools focused on second-year activities (encompassing the 2005-06 school year). Researchers conducted interviews with principals, technology coordinators, and central administrators and focus groups with a sample of sixth- and seventh-grade teachers and students. In the second year, two middle schools in one district (one immersion and one control) were excluded from analyses due to disruptions of school operations caused by Hurricane Rita on the Texas Gulf coast. Thus, second-year results are for 21 immersion and 21 control schools. Data gathered at control campuses verified that the availability and use of technology had not changed substantially since the project's inception, while data gathered at immersion schools contributed to an in-depth examination of second-year implementation. This report combines qualitative data (from interviews and focus groups with selected subjects) and quantitative data (from surveys of all teachers and students) to provide a comprehensive description of second-year implementation of technology immersion. The authors measured implementation using standard-based scores defining four levels of immersion ("minimal," "partial," "substantial," and "full") and standardized implementation indices (z scores). Both types of scores produced measures for five immersion support components (Leadership, Teacher Support, Parent and Community Support, Technical Support, Professional Development) and two teacher and student immersion components (Classroom Immersion and Student Access and Use). Appended are: (1) Characteristics of Individual Campuses; (2) Site Visit Data Collection Methods; and (3) Measuring Implementation Fidelity. Individual chapters contain footnotes. (Contains 16 tables, 8 figures and 6 exhibits.) [For "Evaluation of the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot: An Analysis of Second-Year (2005-06) Implementation. Executive Summary," see ED536292.]