Building smart networks to improve learning

[Commentary] In the newly-released 2014 CoSN IT Leadership Survey, district technology leaders indicate that being ready for online assessments is their number one priority.

And fewer than 18 percent report their district is fully ready for the online and other digital assessments starting this fall in many states.

Clearly, school systems must take steps to prepare their districts for the onset of this new era of online testing. To help school district leaders, CoSN recently released our Raising the BAR: Becoming Assessment Ready initiative. We’re also calling on Congress to provide funding in the Fiscal Year 2015 budget to help districts fill assessment technology gaps and related professional development. Building a scalable, affordable, and reliable education network is no longer “nice to have.” It is a basic requirement for school districts today.

As President Barack Obama said: “In a country where we expect free Wi-Fi with our coffee, we should definitely demand it in our schools.” We are at a tipping point for technology in K-12 -- it is a “new normal.”

[Krueger is the CEO of the Consortium for School Networking]