TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Digital Learning Now (DLN), an initiative of the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), today released the 2014 Digital Learning Report Card. The Digital Learning Report Card measures state policies on digital learning based on their alignment to the 10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning. New in 2014, the report card examines and highlights the progress of individual states in implementing policies. Arizona improved its grade in 2014 to C+ from a C in 2013. The report features Arizona’s SB 1255, passed in 2012. This policy allows students to advance to more challenging courses – or even postsecondary work – once they have demonstrated mastery, instead of relying on traditional, predetermined seat-time.
“Digital learning can open doors for students by improving the delivery, access, quality and rigor of education for today’s learners,” said Patricia Levesque, CEO of ExcelinEd. “This is exactly what our students need to succeed in the 21st century. Many of today’s lawmakers and education leaders are stepping up and creating the opportunities and infrastructure for students to explore powerful new models of learning.”
State policymakers play a critical role in accelerating the adoption of new models of learning enabled by technology. State policy can either remove barriers to innovative approaches or it can stifle them with restrictions, red tape and protecting the status quo.
Arizona’s policy, commonly called Creating Competency-Based Pathways to Postsecondary Education, uses competency-based education pathways to allow students to progress at their own pace. The law also helps educators meet students where they are and move them through content at a customized pace. This approach offers the potential for better educational outcomes for every student.
“The benefits of these types of programs are to have options for students to pursue a path that is best for them while expecting rigor and meeting established competencies in areas such as math, science, English and history,” says Christine Thompson, Executive Director of the Arizona State Board of Education. “Our public education system provides a foundation for students to make choices and pursue options that will help them throughout their lives.”
Thompson goes on to say, “The benefits of these types of programs are to have options for students to pursue a path that is best for them while expecting rigor and meeting established competencies in areas such as math, science, English and history. Our public education system provides a foundation for students to make choices and pursue options that will help them throughout their lives.”
AZ SB 1255 enables students in Arizona to control their own pace. The law also helps educators meet children where they are, and move them through content at a customized pace. This offers the potential for better educational outcomes for every student.
The nation’s 50 states and their education systems have the opportunity to use technology in innovative ways to drive learning. The annual Digital Learning Report Card offers a comprehensive state-by-state analysis of laws and education policies that are doing just that. In 2014, state departments of education, superintendents, teachers and parents tackled implementing and making adjustments to some of the 422 digital learning laws enacted over the last four years. This year, the Report Card amplifies state voices, clarifies metrics for next generation policies and creates a broader picture of digital learning across the nation.
In 2010 the Digital Learning Council, a diverse group of more than 100 leaders in education, government, philanthropy, business, technology and members of policy think tanks convened to develop a roadmap to integrate technological innovations into public education. As a result, the group produced the 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning, a comprehensive framework of state-level policies and actions designed to advance the meaningful and thoughtful integration of technology into K-12 public education. Download the 2014 DLN Report Card to learn more about states’ progressions compared to the 10 Elements.
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- .@DigLearningNow measures and analyzes #DigLn policy landscape nationwide, state by state. View report card here: https://bit.ly/1s0BNtX
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About ExcelinEd
The Foundation for Excellence in Education is igniting a movement of reform, state by state, to transform education for the 21st century economy by working with lawmakers, policymakers, educators and parents to advance education reform across America. Learn more at ExcelinEd.org.
About Digital Learning Now
Digital Learning Now, an initiative of the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), works to advance state policies that will create a high-quality digital learning environment to better equip all students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the 21st century. The policy framework stems from the belief that access to high-quality, customized learning experiences should be available to all students, unbounded by geography or artificial policy constraints.