Introduction
The ICT Test Bed Project was set up by the Department for Education and Skills to explore how ICT can be used to support the Government's wider agenda for education reform. The independent evaluation was managed by Becta's Evidence and Evaluation Directorate. It was overseen by a Project Board Sub-Group, chaired by Prof Angela McFarlane (University of Bristol). The evaluation team from Manchester Metropolitan and Nottingham Trent Universities assessed the effectiveness of the project in relation to five key themes. The evaluation comprises a range of methodologies, including a survey, maturity model, action research, qualitative investigation and benchmarking performance data.
The project undertook work on ICT implementation in three ICT Test Bed areas of social disadvantage. Two of these were within inner cities and one was in a rural area. The 28 ICT Test Bed Schools and departments in three colleges had access to high levels of ICT hardware and appropriate software, as well as support to make the most effective use of this investment. ICT Test Bed work focused on using ICT to:
- Raise standards and performance, especially in the areas of school and college improvement, student attainment and raising the quality of teaching and learning
- Enable more effective leadership and management in schools and colleges
- Help teachers to concentrate their time on their core task of teaching
- Enable more effective collaboration between schools and with their local colleges
- Improve the links between schools, homes and the community