The Digital Learning Now (DLN), a national initiative of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, recently released its fourth annual Digital Learning Report Card. Texas received a B- for their digital learning initiatives.
The report card measures state policies on digital learning according to how well policies align with the “10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning.” The elements—student eligibility, student access, personalized learning, advancement, quality content, quality instruction, quality choices, assessment and accountability, funding, and delivery—were devised by the Digital Learning Council (DLC) as areas that lawmakers and policymakers need to address to “foster a high-quality, customized education for all students.”
In addition to the full report, DLN created a virtual interactive map that shows how each state’s digital learning policies stack up using data from the report. Users can search for their state and see:
- How state digital learning policies have changed from 2012 to 2014.
- How well a state’s digital policies align with the 10 digital learning elements overall (expressed with an A–F grading system).
- How well a state’s policies align with a specific digital learning element (expressed with an A–F grading system).
- Specific state legislation that aligns with the 10 digital learning elements.
- How each state’s digital learning policies compare to one another.
So, what did the report find? Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Connecticut’s digital learning policies were considered to be the least-aligned with DLC’s 10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning and received an “F.” Meanwhile, Florida and Utah made it to the top of the list with an “A-” for their state’s policies. Although five states received an “F” in the report, DLN notes that digital learning policies are improving overall. The report says that in 2014, states focused on implementing a vast amount of digital learning legislation enacted over the past four years (422 digital learning laws to be exact). And just over the past year, half of all states improved their grades from 2013; in fact, 14 states moved up a whole letter grade and 9 made it out of the "F" category since last year’s study.
DLN attributes many of the year’s improvements in state digital learning policies to the recently reformed E-rate program, known as E-rate 2.0. “The federal E-rate program received a much needed update to modernize its structure to better meet the needs of schools and libraries across the country. While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) worked to help improve connectivity to the classroom, many states took steps to connect previously passed competency-based policies to daily instruction and practice.”