The 1999 Missouri School District Computing Census
1999 Missouri Census of Technology -- Executive Summary
Index
The section below provides a statewide summary of results by district and by building for key indicators regarding technology planning, training, hardware, Internet connectivity, and Year 2000 compliance. It is followed by a review of the census methodology.
Detailed responses for the district and building census forms are provided in Appendix A and B.
Appendix C is a detailed review data processing procedures used for the on-line data collection forms.
On-line summaries for each district are available on the DESE web site at /computingcensus/1999/summary.html. These summaries provide two years of data for each district and a comparative review of the statewide indicators.
PLANNING:
DISTRICTS
- Ninety-six percent of the districts have a technology plan, and 93% had one last year. Fifty three percent of these plans cover a five-year period, compared with 50% in 1998.
- Eighty-three percent of school buildings have a building technology plan in 1999, compared with 73% in 1998. Ninety six percent report that their building plan is part of the district plan.
- Ninety-five percent of districts include technology as part of their Comprehensive School Improvement Plan, up from 92% in 1998.
- Eighty-two percent of district technology plans were approved by DESE for 1999, up from 71% in 1998. Approval is required for participation in the e-rate program. (The nationwide Universal Service Fund (E-rate) is being supported through an assessment to all providers of telecommunication services. The funding is available for telecommunication services provided after January 1, 1998, through June 30, 1999 to all schools and libraries that apply, on a first-come, first-served basis.)
- Over 70% of the 1999 plans covered the following items; hardware/peripherals, school computer software, internal connections, staff training, curriculum integration, and maintenance of equipment. Only half of the 1998 plans covered the school’s electrical wiring, while 53% of the 1999 plans covered wiring.
- Who is making the decisions about technology acquisition and use within a district? The following are presented in 1999 rank order, with 1998 and 1999 percentages:
| Group involved | 1998 | 1999 |
| Teachers | 85% | 90% |
| Superintendent | 28% | 90% |
| Principals | 11% | 89% |
| Technology team | 50% | 84% |
| Library Media Specialist | 83% | 82% |
| School Board Members | 76% | 73% |
| Parents | 19% | 67% |
| Instructional technology director | 20% | 57% |
| Curriculum director | 69% | 31% |
| Consultants | 86% | 26% |
| Chief Financial Officer | 83% | 20% |
| Business partners | 14% | 19% |
| Other | 12% | 17% |
| Director of Management Information | 63% | 12% |
- Twenty-seven percent of the districts partnered with a business or higher education institution to support technology in 1999, up from 22% in 1998.
- Eighty-three percent of schools have a technology plan, up from 71% in 1998. Of these schools, 95% of the building plans are part of the district plan.
- Over 75% of building technology plans cover computer software, internal connections, computer maintenance, and curriculum integration.
- Ninety-five percent of schools have a school improvement plan, and 99% of these schools’ plans include technology as a component.
- Twenty-nine percent of schools partner with a business or higher education institution to support technology. This is an increase from 23% in 1998.
TRAINING:
DISTRICTS
- Instructional integration was ranked the highest priority for technical assistance with educational technology.
| Areas for which districts gave a high priority ranking for technical assistance (1999) | Pct. Of Schools |
| Instructional integration | 73% |
| Curriculum integration | 72% |
| Network/wiring | 45% |
| Technology planning | 44% |
| Basic operations | 33% |
| Information systems | 33% |
| Procurement | 24% |
| Budget planning | 20% |
| Community awareness | 19% |
- In 1998 and 1999, 7% of the districts required teachers to demonstrate technology skills for employment or continued employment within the district.
- Those districts requiring demonstration of technology skills by their teachers, evaluate the teachers by monitoring professional development hours (4%), hands-on-evaluations (4%), and transcripts (2%).
- Fifty-nine percent of school administrators are at an intermediate skill level in the use of technology. This is up from 50% in 1998.
- Sixteen percent of Missouri school districts have technology requirements for students to advance.
- District personnel estimate that 70% of sixth graders are computer literate.
- Ninety-five percent of schools have a school improvement plan, and 99% of these schools include technology as a component of their plan.
- Compared with the 1998-1999 school year, 54% of buildings plan to increase the number of scheduled professional days scheduled for technology training, 42% indicated that scheduled days would remain the same, and 4% said they would reduce scheduled days for technology training.
HARDWARE:
DISTRICTS
- District-level staff and outside vendors were most commonly responsible for technical maintenance/support in the district for both 1998 and 1999.
| Responsible persons | 1998 | 1999 |
| District staff | 70% | 73% |
| Outside vendors | 65% | 69% |
| School certified staff | 44% | 51% |
| Contractors’ agreement | 22% | 22% |
| School classified staff | 15% | 17% |
| Students | 10% | 13% |
| Parents/community members | 3% | 5% |
| Regional centers/units | 2% | 3% |
| No one | 0% | 0% |
- IBM compatible computers are the most common computers in use in business/administrative offices. The totals in the table below do not add to 100% because many districts use both IBM and Apple computers.
| Percent of districts reporting numbers and types of computers in district business/administrative offices | ||||
| IBM | Apple/Mac | |||
| 1998 | 1999 | 1998 | 1999 | |
| 77% | 97% | 23% | 22% | |
- Missouri school districts have spent or budgeted $43,321,919 for computer hardware and peripherals in the 1998-99 school year. During the same period, $7,075,765 was spent or budgeted for instructional software, and $3,991,114 for professional development.
- Districts estimate that they will spend $3,278,122 on year-2000 compliance.
- There are 176,150 computers in Missouri school classrooms, up from 131,777 in 1998. This is an increase of 34%.
- The ratios of students to computers in Missouri has become much smaller between 1998 and 1999.
| Ratio | 1998 | 1999 | Pct. Change |
| Students per computer | 6.4 | 4.8 | -25% |
| Students per Internet capable computer | 8.3 | 6.1 | -27% |
| Students per Internet connected computer | 13.5 | 8.6 | -36% |
INTERNET CONNECTIVITY:
DISTRICTS
- Eighty-five percent of district offices have a direct connection to the Internet. Of these, 77% have a T1 connection.
- Seventy-five percent of districts require parent signatures for students to access the Internet, up from 68% in 1998.
- Internet-connected computers in classrooms have increased from 62,118 in 1998 to 98,682 in 1999. This is an increase of 59%.
- The number of students per Internet connected computers has decreased dramatically between the 1998 and the 1999 census of technology. There were 13.5 students per Internet connected computer in 1998, and 8.6 in 1999 – a reduction of 36%.
- The percentage of schools with a direct connection to the Internet has increased from 68% in 1998 to 83% in 1999.
- Ninety-five percent of schools have access to the Internet, up from 91% in 1998. Of these schools, 24% have one or more dial-up links to the Internet.
YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE:
DISTRICTS*
- Five percent of Missouri school districts indicate that they have successfully implemented complete year-2000 programs.
| Phase | In-process | Complete | Don’t know |
| Awareness (Y2K information gathering and dissemination) | 50% | 46% | 4% |
| Assessment (identifying systems needing repair/replacement) | 70% | 25% | 5% |
| Renovation (repairing/replacing systems) | 78% | 7% | 15% |
| Validation (successful testing after repairing/replacing systems) | 78% | 7% | 15% |
| Implementation (using renovated/repaired systems in normal service) | 72% | 5% | 23% |
* This question only on the district form.
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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