State-Wide Evaluation of the New Hampshire ESEA Title II, Part D Grant Program. Interim Report
Author: Knestis, Kirk
Date: 2010-12-01
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Thinking Skills,Learner Engagement,Educational Technology,Educational Opportunities,Program Effectiveness,Resource Allocation,Professional Development,Grants,Disadvantaged Schools,School Districts,Student Needs,Technology Uses in Education,Instructional Improvement,Teacher Improvement,Student Improvement,Academic Achievement,Accountability,Access to Information,Disclosure,Access to Computers,Program Evaluation,Measures (Individuals),Stakeholders,Teaching Methods

The Title II-D grant program, &quot;Enhancing Education Through Technology,&quot; (EETT) provides financial assistance to higher poverty school districts that have the greatest need for technology support or have been identified as being in need of improvement. In 2009, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) provided an additional $650 million in Title II-D funding to schools. With the ARRA Ed Tech funds, state educational agencies had the opportunity to implement 21st century classrooms in their schools with the goals of enhancing instruction, facilitating teaching and learning, and improving student achievement. Through both EETT regular and ARRA grant funds, the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHDOE) funded three technology-focused projects beginning in Fall 2009: 1) the Tech Leader Cohort (TLC) Program; 2) Classroom Technology Mini-Grants; and 3) ARRA 21st Century Classrooms. In this interim report, the evaluation will focus on the program effectiveness, transparency, accountability, and equity of Title II-D grant program activities at the 19 districts receiving ARRA Ed Tech funding. Five research questions were developed by Hezel Associates to further refine the focus of the evaluation. These five research questions are presented with a summary of the main findings. These questions are: (1) How well are school staff members turning classrooms into technology-rich learning environments, fully equipped with hardware, software, and rich digital resources for learning?; (2) To what degree are these settings encouraging mediating outcomes for students including interactive learning, higher-level thinking skills, and student engagement?; (3) To what degree does the provision of technology tools translate into real opportunities for students to collaborate and connect with new content?; (4) How are new technologies and resources serving students of various groups, including those with the highest need?; and (5) How are grantees doing in terms of training teachers not only how to use technology but also how to translate their new skills into practice in their teaching? Based on main findings stemming from the research questions, the authors offer the following preliminary recommendations: (1) Continue to reach out to schools with limited technology support staff; (2) Encourage more discussions among educators about the benefits of allowing students to access the school network from home; (3) Encourage educators to continue to provide students with new opportunities to interact with the technology and to use the resources to connect to new content and collaborate with one another; (4) Provide additional assistance to schools in need of improvement for obtaining their full allocation of resources and identifying strategies for putting the resources to use; (5) Continue to provide teachers with high-quality, relevant, focused professional development opportunities; and (6) To the extent possible, offer opportunities for staff members to participate in district on-site professional development or training during regular school hours. Appended are: (1) List of Acronyms and Abbreviations; (2) Evaluation Timetable; (3) Bibliography of References; (4) Evaluation Instruments; (5) NH Title II-D Logic Model; and (6) Tables of Findings. (Contains 12 tables, 37 figures and 14 footnotes.) [For related report, &quot;State-Wide Evaluation of the New Hampshire ESEA Title II, Part D Grant Program. Final Report,&quot; see ED542702.]