Technology Standards for Students, Teachers, and Librarians

The state’s technology standards ensure that students, teachers, and librarians gain and apply critical 21st Century digital knowledge and skills. Technology standards for prekindergarten students, K-12 students, teachers, and librarians are listed below.

Technology Standards for Students

Following are Technology Standards for students:

• Prekindergarten Guidelines
• Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), Grades K-12, Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 126

Technology Standards for Teachers

Following are Technology Standards for teachers:

• Technology Applications Standards, I-V (All Beginning Teachers and Recommended for Current Teachers) and VI-XI (PDF)
• Master Technology Teacher Standards (PDF)

Library Standards

 Following are Library Standards:

• School Librarian Certificate
• School Library Standards and Guidelines  

For further information on technology standards, go to Frequently Asked Questions-Technology Standards for Students and Educators.

NCLB Title II, Part D – Enhancing Education Through Technology

Two goals listed in NCLB Title II, Part D link to state Technology Applications standards. (See No Child Left Behind, Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology.) The two goals and how the state addresses those goals follow:

• Goal: Technology Literacy
   
“Assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technology literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability”

The state defines a “technology literate” student as one who has mastered the Technology Applications TEKS for grades K-8 (19 TAC, Chapter 126). 
 
• Goal: Curriculum Integration

“Ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curricula and instructional strategies in all schools in the State so that technology will be fully integrated into the curricula and instruction of the schools”

Teachers and librarians use technology standards (for students, teachers, and librarians) to document meeting expectations for teaching and learning with technology. The Long-Range Plan for Technology (LRPT), 2006-2010, references technology standards as well. The LRPT is described below.

Long-Range Plan for Technology

The Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 recommends continued support for the implementation of the Prekindergarten Guidelines (Domain X, Technology Applications) and the Technology Applications TEKS for Grades K-12. In addition, it identifies the need for the revision of the Technology Applications TEKS to ensure appropriateness of requirements over time and alignment with 21^st Century skills. The LRPT also recommends that school districts measure student mastery of the Technology Applications TEKS at grades 2, 5, and 8. 

The LRPT provides recommendations for Texas schools so that by 2020 the following can be accomplished:

• All learners engage in individualized, real-world learning experiences supported by ubiquitous access to modern digital tools, robust anywhere/anytime connectivity, and dynamic, diverse learning communities.
• All learners access, evaluate, manage, and use information in a variety of media formats from a wide array of sources.
• All learners create knowledge, apply it across subject areas and creative endeavors, and purposefully communicate that knowledge, and the results of its use, to diverse audiences.
• Learning experiences take place in authentic settings and require collaboration and management of complex processes.
• These experiences involve critical thinking, social responsibility, complex decision making, and sophisticated problem solving. 

All recommendations are found at Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 (PDF).