Evaluation of the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot: Final Outcomes for a Four-Year Study (2004-05 to 2007-08)
Author: Shapley, Kelly
Date: 2009-01-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Middle Schools,Public Schools,Technology Integration,Academic Achievement,Pilot Projects,Program Effectiveness,Program Implementation,Fidelity,Middle School Teachers,Teacher Characteristics,Computer Literacy,Ideology,Teacher Collaboration,School Culture,Laptop Computers,Access to Computers,Middle School Students,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8,Student Characteristics,Economically Disadvantaged,Independent Study,Satisfaction,Student Behavior,Discipline Problems,Attendance,Learner Engagement,Student Experience,Mathematics Achievement,Reading Achievement,Writing Achievement,Social Studies,Science Achievement,Technology Uses in Education,Outcomes of Education,Sustainability,Hierarchical Linear Modeling

The Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP), created by the Texas Legislature in 2003, was based on the assumption that the use of technology in Texas public schools could be achieved more effectively by &quot;immersing&quot; schools in technology rather than by introducing technology resources, such as hardware, software, digital content, and educator training, in a cyclical fashion over time. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) invested more than $20 million in federal Title II, Part D monies to fund Technology Immersion projects at high-need middle schools through a competitive grant process. Concurrently, a research study partially funded by a federal Evaluating State Educational Technology Programs grant has investigated whether student achievement improved over time through exposure to Technology Immersion. The Texas Center for Educational Research (TCER) was TEA's partner for a four-year evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of the Technology Immersion model. The study addressed five major research questions: (1) What was the effect of Technology Immersion on teachers and teaching?; (2) What was the effect of Technology Immersion on students and learning?; (3) What was the effect of Technology Immersion on students' academic achievement?; (4) How well was Technology Immersion implemented; and (5) What was the relationship between implementation and student academic outcomes? The fourth-year evaluation provides final conclusions about the effects of Technology Immersion on schools, teachers, and students. This report combines information gathered during the fourth project year (2007-08) with data from the first-through-third implementation years (2004-05 through 2006-07). The study's quasi-experimental research design has allowed inferences about the causal effects of Technology Immersion through comparisons between 21 treatment schools and 21 control schools. Like previous years, outcomes represented the effects of Technology Immersion for schools that generally reached less than full implementation. Major findings from the fourth year are described. A final section discusses the quality of Technology Immersion implementation, prospects for sustainability of the model, and implications for educational policy. Appended are: (1) Theoretical Framework for technology Immersion--Literature Review; (2) Characteristics of Participating Schools; (3) Survey Items and Scale Reliabilities; (4) Measurement of Implementation Fidelity; and  (5) Technical Appendix--Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). Individual chapters contain footnotes. (Contains 26 tables and 73 figures.)