Students at Springdale High School in Arkansas don’t wonder what they have to do to earn an A in computer class. And they don’t worry about being bored or overwhelmed by the work.

Traditional computer classes in the school’s business technology department have been replaced with self-paced, mastery learning classes that have specific learning goals. Students learn at their own pace and demonstrate that they have acquired the necessary skills to advance to the next level.

“Students are taking much more responsibility for their actions,” said Kathleen Johnson, who teaches computer skills. “They are more likely to analyze problems and find solutions to improving their grades. They are also learning to set goals, meet deadlines, and manage their time.”

After being frustrated that some students were wasting time, Marilyn Carrell, head of the business technology department, teamed up with other business teachers, including Johnson and Karrie Combs, to revamp the school’s computer courses in the 1999-2000 school year.

“We were teaching semester-long courses, and the advanced kids  those with computers at home  were bored to death,” Carre

In every computer applications course, students complete independent projects that have clear guidelines and goals. Many courses are cross-curricular, allowing students to do Internet research on topics from other courses.

• Ensuring that students have adequate skills;

Springdale students use computers equipped with Pentium I, II, or III chips and loaded with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, FrontPage, and PhotoDraw. Students also learn to use scanners and digital cameras to incorporate graphs, photos, and videos into Web pages and presentations.

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