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AZ schools score poorly in computer education

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Arizona students have less access to computers and technology than those in other states, according to the latest Technology Counts study by Education Week. This report adds to the string of national comparisons that find Arizona's educational system lacking.

The study said 39.5 percent of Arizona students have computers in their classroom, compared with the national average of 49.5 percent. Arizona scored a depressing D- in access to technology, because not only do students lack adequate access to computers in classrooms, our state lags behind in the availability of computers in a school lab or media center. Seventy-one percent of Arizona students have access to a computer lab, compared with a 77 percent national average.

Arizona rated a C+ overall — thanks to an A in "use of technology" because Arizona has policies on the books that include technology in academic standards. But policies don't mean much if students have a hard time finding or using computers at school.

This report card shows that Arizona does not yet deserve a gold star.

The Technology Counts survey found that Arizona has one instructional computer for every 4.7 students, compared with one per 3.8 students nationally. That's a big difference and one that affects how much children in Arizona can learn to use what is now standard technology.

A small glimmer of positive news within the report: students in high-poverty schools have better access to computers and the high-speed Internet than those in low-poverty schools. This is encouraging only because students who attend schools in high-poverty neighborhoods are less likely than those in wealthier areas to have computers and Internet access at home.

Arizonans — even those without kids in school — should care about the study's findings because it's yet another way that Arizona falls short in educational comparisons with the rest of the country. Companies looking for new locations want high-skilled workers, which has an effect on local economies.

Dollars and cents aren't the only reasons we should value and support a high-achieving education system. The success of any society, and our form of government, relies on a well-informed public composed of people with ideas, critical thinking skills and the ability to solve problems. A solid public education system is essential, and technological literacy is an important part of that equation.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said his plan to equip every Arizona student with a laptop would help fix the problem. He's asked state lawmakers to support an initial plan to spend $2.5 million to provide laptops for every student at seven high schools. Locally, all students at Empire High School in the Vail School District are given laptops to use for studies.

Horne's plan is ambitious and would go a long way to helping Arizona students catch up with their peers nationally in technology.

The Tucson Unified School District is trying to figure out exactly what technology it has, how it works — or doesn't work — and what it needs. The district is asking parents, community members and staffers to take an anonymous survey at its Web site, www.tusd1.org.

As reported previously by the Star's George B. Sánchez, the district's technology department and its former director are under federal and state investigations into allegations of procurement violations and bid-rigging. This has affected TUSD's access to federal technology money. We hope the investigations are wrapped up as soon as possible so the district can move ahead with plans to improve technology in the district.

Carole Vinograd Bausell of the Education Research Center, which helped with the Technology Counts 2007 report, told Sánchez that Arizona has work to do, and we agree.

"The future challenge is that most schools have the Web," she told Sánchez. "Are students going to be taught how to use technology in a thoughtful way so they can communicate more effectively and solve problems at a higher level? Technology is no longer an end in itself."

Computers are part of the landscape today, and our public education system must properly prepare Arizona students to use, understand and benefit from ever-improving technology.