The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) recently released the findings of an annual national education survey that measures U.S. educational institution’s progress toward meeting SIIA’s Vision for K-20. The survey was created to help teachers and administrators make progress in using technology “to provide 21st century tools,” access from anywhere at any time, differentiated learning and more.

SIIA’s goal is to ensure that “all students have access to a technology-enabled teaching and learning environment capable of preparing them to compete globally and lead the world in innovation.” A pilot survey was conducted in 2008, with a follow up this past spring.

The main survey findings show slow progress—while America’s educational system improved on 17 out of 20 measures compared to 2008, education institutions are only 62 percent of the way toward achieving SIIA’s Vision K-20 benchmark of 100 percent , a one percent increase from the 2008 survey.

Other findings include:

•         U.S. schools and universities showed the greatest improvement from 2008 in the adoption of high-speed broadband access and the tools needed to enable online learning.

•         The U.S. education system is 70 percent toward achieving the goal of using technology to support the enterprise and to facilitate communication and collaboration.

•         However, the U.S. education system is least advanced in the use of technology-based assessment tools (46 percent), nurturing creativity and self-expression (60 percent) and helping schools meet the needs of students (59 percent).

•         Post-secondary institutions generally show more progress on all measures than do K-12 schools and districts.