I know that the current debate over testing our kids has reached new levels when I can read articles about it in magazines like Reader's Digest while sitting in my local dentist's waiting room. In the March issue, the line "If you think your kids need to spend more time penciling in answer bubbles, the College Board has granted your wish" caught my eye.  The College Board has introduced a new SAT-style exam called ReadiStep for students in the eighth grade. Critics say it is merely a new revenue stream for the College Board, and supporters say it will help to guide student instruction.

While standardized tests have become increasingly important in determining admission to college over the past ten years, some schools are now questioning whether to use them. Originally designed to distinguish top students regardless of background, the SATs are now thought to "calcify differences," according to a distinguished panel chaired by Harvard's dean of admissions, William Fitzsimmons. Students who can afford it can take the test multiple times and can determine which results to submit to colleges. Many colleges are giving more weight to students who do well in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. Those students, says Holy Cross admissions director Ann McDermott, "know how to work and manage their time."

Between the SATs, state and district exams, No Child Left Behind, AP, and ACT, the typical student will take more than two dozen standardized tests by graduation. Many parents question the effect of so much testing on already overscheduled kids. Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association says, "People like to use test scores to label students because it's easy and fast. But a student is so much more than a test score." I couldn't agree more.

Some Florida classrooms are taking advantage of technology that allows them to share--in real time--the same lesson with students in other schools while the students of both classes interact with each other.

Approximately 14 percent of the classrooms in the Broward County School District have been outfitted with whiteboards and interactive software that make this kind of sharing possible. "Today's students are digital natives," said Superintendent James Notter. "We are absolutely modifying learning to our student's world."

"The 21st-century technology makes lessons such as history and math accessible to the Nintendo Wii generation," said Principal James Griffin. In addition, some of the schools in the district are comprised of students from low-income families. Said Griffin, "...the technology can expand students' worlds beyond their neighborhoods and expose them to people from different backgrounds--in classrooms across the county or across the Atlantic Ocean." Students have shared lessons with schools across town as well as a class in England.

And it's not just the students who benefit. Teachers learn from colleagues outside their schools and pick up different techniques they can use in their own classrooms.

I view this as essentially positive. I'm a firm believer that learning should be interesting and pertinent. As technology develops, we should integrate it into the classrooms so that students feel relevant. Last week's blog spoke to the dangers of over-emphasizing technology. I believe that whiteboards, both alone and with interactive software, keep learning relevant, as they are so versatile. As I said before, this trend drives our commitment to keep our resources current, as is evidenced by our investment in making all our leveled books, worksheets, quizzes, and graphic organizers projectable for use on interactive and non-interactive whiteboards.

The so-called summer slide really bothers me! Teachers work incredibly hard to achieve reading gains during the school year. Then we lock-up the school libraries and classrooms that house the books these kids need for reading practice--the practice they need to maintain their reading gains. Some studies show that the typical student can lose up to three months of gain during the summer.

It really is all about PRACTICE. It doesn't matter if it's hitting golf balls, playing piano, or reading. We get better the more we practice. But without the proper tools, practice isn't possible.

The problem is particularly acute in low-income homes where there are few developmentally appropriate books to read. I recently read that if kids read 5-10 books during the summer, the slide could be prevented. The solution seems so simple; it seems a shame to let students lose their hard-earned gains.

I feel that Learning A-Z has helped play a role in the prevention of summer reading loss. Many teachers have shared how they use the Reading A-Z and Raz-Kids websites to provide appropriate books for summer reading. Some teachers allow kids to order books that are then placed in plastic bags and sent home with the children for the summer. Others tell me that RAZ-Kids, with its 24/7 access to a large library of engaging and developmentally appropriate books, is the perfect way to keep kids reading during the summer. Kids just log in, then read and take quizzes. Teachers can view their students' summer reading activity from reports automatically posted in the teacher section of Raz-Kids.

Whether you use Learning A-Z resources or other resources, I hope you make summer reading available to your students. You don't have to give up the hard--earned gains. You just need to do all you can to encourage kids to practice, practice, practice. Yes, even during the summer.

Please take a few minutes to watch the video I made for you on this subject: IRA Video

Kids today--even big kids like me--have access to some very cool gadgets.  Gadgets like the Internet, video games, computers, cell phones, CD players, and hi-def TVs. Very fun and with the potential to inform, stimulate, and educate. But how is all that technology affecting our kids' ability to learn?

Patricia Greenfield, UCLA distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Children's Digital Media Center in Los Angeles, analyzed more than 50 studies on learning technology and found trends that are both disturbing and heartening. 

Greenfield states that learners have changed as a result of their exposure to technology: there is a decline in critical thinking and analysis, and an increase in visual intelligence. "Studies show that reading develops imagination, induction, reflection and critical thinking, as well as vocabulary," said Greenfield. "Reading for pleasure is key to developing these skills." Yet reading for pleasure has declined among young people in recent decades.

The fact that visual intelligence has increased means students are better able to at least process information. However, visual media is generally real-time and gives little time for reflection, analysis, or imagination. Greenfield suggests that as students spend more time with visual media, evaluation methods that include forms of visual media will give us a better picture of what kids actually know. For example, I am actually seeing a much greater incidence of students creating PowerPoint presentations to demonstrate knowledge.

Regarding the balance of media used in the classroom and traditional techniques such as reading and classroom discussion, Greenfield says, "No one medium is good for everything. If we want to develop a variety of skills, we need a balanced media diet."

I love both reading and technology, and I believe that a blend of traditional print and new technology resources for learning--a best of both worlds, if you will--is the way forward. At Learning A-Z, I continue to push for providing solid print resources for teachers as well as the best in new technology. It is one of the reasons for putting all our leveled books, worksheets, quizzes, and graphic organizers into a projectable format for use with digital projectors and interactive whiteboards. It is why we continue to invest in websites like Raz-Kids, where students can have an interactive experience with our books.

School reformers in Texas are looking to Finland  for ideas to improve public education. After all, Finland ranks at or near the top of the charts in public education, and its students consistently outperform their peers in international tests. It's truly a country where no child is left behind.