The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) produced a nationally representative assessment of technology and engineering literacy, using scenario-based tasks on computers to measure eighth graders' understanding of the use and effects of technology in their lives. On the assessment, also known as The Nation's Report Card, students interacted with multimedia tasks using an assortment of tools to solve practical problems.
The Nation's Report Card: Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) provides results on students' performance and related experiences both in and out of school. Forty-three percent of eighth-grade students performed at or above the Proficient level on questions that revealed skills in thinking through problems systematically, using technology and engineering information built into each task to arrive at the best solutions.
The report, which uses scenario-based tasks along with traditional questions administered on computers, correlates experiences with performance. Students who learned about technology- and society-related topics more frequently in school scored higher on average than those who did so less frequently. The same held true for students who learned about technology- and society-related topics more frequently outside of school.
Explore the interactive TEL Report Card and TEL profile tool to compare student groups based on their performance and learning experiences with technology and engineering literacy, and watch explanatory videos to learn more about TEL.
