Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Another study-

Here's another damning study (https://edutechdebate.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/computers-north-carolina.pdf), which shows that just giving kids computers has "statistically significant and persistent negative impacts on student math and reading test scores."  Here's the abstract:

Does differential access to computer technology at home compound the educational disparities

between rich and poor? Would a program of government provision of computers to secondary

students reduce these disparities? We use administrative data on North Carolina public school

students to corroborate earlier surveys which document broad racial and socioeconomic gaps in

home computer access and use. Using within-student variation in home computer access, and

across-ZIP code variation in the timing of the introduction of high-speed internet service, we also

demonstrate that the introduction of home computer technology is associated with modest but

statistically significant and persistent negative impacts on student math and reading test scores.

Further evidence suggests that providing universal access to home computers and high-speed

internet access would broaden, rather than narrow, math and reading achievement gaps.

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