ATLANTA - The 16 member states of the Southern Regional Education Board
scored among the nation's best in educational technology in Education Week's
just-released special report, Technology Counts 2006: The Information Edge.
For the first time, the national publication covering K-12 education issued
letter grades for state policies on educational technology, and SREB states
fared well. Virginia and West Virginia received the only overall A grades in the
nation for their educational technology policies. SREB states represent 44
percent of all the A's and B's for states in the report.
No SREB states received an overall grade lower than C-minus. One reason for
the mostly high grades for SREB states is the emergence of virtual schools.
Eleven of the 16 SREB member states have developed virtual schools, and leaders
in the states without them are discussing the creation of virtual schools, which
offer classes online. Eleven of the 16 SREB states also meet or exceed the
national average for students per internet connection.
Education Week graded the states on students' access, use and capacity to
use technology in K-12 schools. The report generally does not cover higher
education.
For more than a decade, the SREB Educational Technology Cooperative has
worked with state K-12 and higher education agencies to improve the
infrastructure and use of technology in schools and in policy-making.
Bill Thomas, the director of the SREB Educational Technology Cooperative, is
available to speak with reporters about the Education Week report.
The complete Education Week report is online at
www.edweek.org.
The Southern Regional Education Board, or SREB, based in Atlanta, was created
in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and
government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and
economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West
Virginia. Each state is represented by its governor and four gubernatorial
appointees. More information and a wealth of data and policy reports are
available online at www.sreb.org.
