January 2008 — News
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Web Technology Boosts Writing Performance at Alhambra USD
Can a computer really grade a composition?
Ask the initially skeptical teachers at Alhambra Unified School District just east of Los Angeles. Coordinator of Instructional Technology Linda Benafel introduced Vantage Learning's online writing program MY Access! in the 2005/2006 school year. Seventh-grade test scores on the California Standards Test writing assessment immediately zoomed nearly 50 percentage points, from 22 percent of students scoring proficient or above in 2005/2006 to 70 percent in 2006/2007.
Students use MY Access! by writing an essay assigned by a teacher, then submitting it to the Web-based software. Vantage says that the program works by analyzing some 350 semantic, syntactic, and discourse characteristics in each essay, then assigning a score from 1 to 6. The score is based on items including focus and meaning, organization, content and development, language use and style, mechanics and conventions, and overall writing proficiency.
Teachers can customize the program so that students see all, some, or none of the comments it offers. Teachers can also enter the program and change a student's score, alter the comments, or add notes of their own.
Although teachers were skeptical at first, Benafel said, they've realized the value of the product in saving them time, as well as the enthusiasm students demonstrate in using it. And the state test scores speak for themselves.
A Boost from EETT
Credit for the dramatic jump in writing scores also goes to a big increase in the number of computers available per classroom at Alhambra's 13 K-8 elementary schools. Along with MY Access and more computers, the district added wireless access and additional training for teachers. "It's the technology; it's the staff development; it's the focus on writing and revision," Benafel said. "And the kids were very excited to get laptop computers."
The improvements all tie back to a two-year Enhancing Education Through Technology grant the district received beginning in 2005 for nearly $2 million. The main goal of the grant program is to provide funding to assist school districts in using technology to enhance teaching and promote learning. Alhambra's grant, which Benafel applied for, was based around improving writing instruction in the district's sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade classrooms.
Using grant money, the district purchased Apple Mobile Learning Labs consisting of 20 Apple laptop computers with Internet access; the computers roll into classrooms on carts. Before the grant, 42 students at an Alhambra middle school shared one computer. With the grant, those schools moved to a ratio of four to five students per computer.
Grant monies also paid for staff development in use of the computers and software, which Benafel said is a critical component. "You have to have a strategic plan; you have to have training on teaching the teachers," she stressed. She also used grant money to hire a part-time technician to take care of computer repairs.
