If you are like me, the days of loading applications onto your computer from a floppy disk or a CD seemed like an activity of only a short time ago. But those days may soon be gone forever. As high-speed connectivity becomes more and more commonplace in homes and schools, everything is being delivered online. All of this has many advantages such as reducing compatibility issues and eliminating the need for IT departments to install software in schools and businesses. Even Google is getting into the fray by offering a suite of applications linked to online connectivity.

Certainly we at Proquest LearningPage are aware of the advantages of delivering low-cost resources 24/7 to teachers’ desktops or laptops. We are committed to offering more and more quality instructional resources for students and teachers via the Internet.

Can you believe it? Three- and four-year-old children are taking spelling and math tests. Well believe it, because it is happening in day-care programs across the country. Even newborns enter the world being tested for activity, pulse, reflex, and breathing. Soon after, they are compared with their peers on the basis of crawling and walking ability.

Many blame this testing mania on President Bush’s No Child Left Behind initiative. They say it has created a national mandate for testing. These tests are not only high stakes for kids, but also for teachers and principals whose salaries and jobs are often determined by student performance.

Testing proponents, on the other hand, argue that tests are the best way to hold educators accountable for student achievement. But many experts claim that while testing may be important, the importance is far overblown and is causing teachers to devote more time to teaching how to pass a test than to the more important subject matter. I find it interesting that in a recent survey, 71% of those charged most for student learning, TEACHERS, felt there was too much testing. Who better than teachers would know?

I believe that if you give most teachers the tools they need to differentiate instruction, they will better meet the needs of each student and thus improve the likelihood that students will perform well on high-stakes tests.