Freshman Digital Literacy Assessment Results

Incoming freshmen have been evaluated on their technology skills through an assessment provided by Atomic Learning which aligns with the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S). ISTE's NETS are the standards for evaluating the skills and knowledge students need to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly global and digital world. The results of this assessment provides an overview of what skills have transferred with students as they transition from middle school. 

NETS-S Guideline
1: Creativity & Innovation
2: Communication & Collaboration
3: Research & Information Fluency
4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making
5: Digital Citizenship
6: Technology Operation and Concepts

Freshmen were tested at North, during extended homeroom activities, which allowed for more student participation.  At West, freshman were given standard homeroom time and study hall periods to work on the assessment; the same method used in previous years at both buildings.  

The advantage of conducting assessments during an extended homeroom over standard homeroom periods and study halls is evident by the numbers. Without supervision and teacher prompting, it becomes difficult to have students realize the value of this assessment.  

The following chart shows assessment results for the current school year in comparison to the previous year.
The percentage is the average for all respondents that show proficiency in the category tested
Testing Dates: August 21 - October 7, 2012
Fall 2012
Fall 2011
Number of Completed Assessments
455
204
75
155
NETS GUIDELINES
North 2012
West 2012
North 2011
West 2011
1: Creativity & Innovation
57.4%
65.9%
64.3%
63.7%
2: Communication & Collaboration
41.6%
48.3%
57.3%
53.5%
3: Research & Information Fluency
55.4%
57.0%
59.3%
61.3%
4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making
64.6%
70.0%
71.7%
71.9%
5: Digital Citizenship
60.3%
66.5%
67.3%
70.6%
6: Technology Operation and Concepts
52.2%
59.0%
59.0%
62.6%

We plan to retest the Junior class sometime in the Spring. Our hope to gain enough information about student growth in digital literacy.

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