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to achieve and harder to teach, and although they
are highly valued in contemporary economies and
by subject-matter experts, and they seem essen-
tial for citizens to participate fully in democratic
society, they rarely show up on standardized tests
(Grabinger & Dunlap, 2002). Indeed, studies have
shown that the introduction of new technologies
into schools may result in short-term decreases
in standardized test scores, as teachers become
familiar with new pedagogies and time is diverted
from basic skills (Dusick, 1998; Kleiman, 2000).
The profound and potentially positive long-term
effects of increased integration of technology into
teaching and learning may not show up until a
few years have passed.
The inability of standardized tests to capture
the long-term higher-order learning outcomes
presents a conundrum to teachers and adminis-
trators who seek to transform education so that
it more effectively produces the kinds of gradu-
ates that our society seeks. It may be difficult to
justify the costs—in terms of both money and
time—of introducing new technologies and new
teaching methods when the public is focused so
narrowly on test scores. This is especially true
in school districts, for example in the United
States, that are not currently making adequate
yearly progress on state achievement measures.
Wealthier school districts, which easily meet state
norms, are freer to experiment with new ways of
teaching and learning that offer the possibility of
producing new kinds of student learning. Schools
in lower socioeconomic status communities are
often forced to stick to the “tried and the true”
focus on low-order outcomes in the effort to meet
standards. Because of this dilemma—and because
it disproportionately handicaps students in lower
socioeconomic communities—it is important to
find new ways to report school effectiveness that
show the true benefits of technology integration
into teaching and learning. In short, what are
needed are new forms of assessments that capture
higher-order learning outcomes (Haertel & Means,
2003; Johnston and Cooley, 2001).
The pathway to new forms of assessment is
a long one, but many steps have already been
taken. First, the higher-order outcomes that are
considered valuable in the contemporary economy,
by subject-matter experts, and to strengthen our
democracy needed to be identified. The 1990s was
a period of considerable activity in this area, with
the production of a series of reports by blue-ribbon
panels on what the new outcomes of schooling
should be. One of the most influential was the US
Department of Labor Secretary's Commission
on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), which
identified the skills, knowledge, and dispositions
needed by workers in the new global economy (US
Department of Labor, 1990; 1991). The SCANS
reports focused on such outcomes as the ability
to work in teams, learning how to learn, problem-
solving and sense-making, and meta-cognitive
skills such as paying attention to the consequences
of what one is doing. The report concluded that
schools need to develop skills in resource manage-
ment, information management, social interaction,
systems behavior and performance, human and
technology interaction, and affective skills (such
as attitudes, motivation, and values).
The kinds of skills that are emphasized in the
SCANS list are very different from the traditional
notion of “basic skills”. What's more, the SCANS
commission referred to new theories of learning
emerging from cognitive science to argue that it is
not necessary to teach basic skills before students
can learn higher-level skills. Rather, basic skills
are best learned in the context of participation
in authentic tasks requiring active inquiry and
problem-solving . The best learning occurs not
when students act as passive recipients of skills
and knowledge that are presented to them wholly
formed, but when they are given opportunities to
construct their own knowledge, invent possibili-
ties, and solve complex problems. Further, students
learn best when they work in teams or groups. Basic
skills are learned as needed as they are applied in
the processes of seeking information, discussing
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