ERIC Number: ED510344
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Jun
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement. NBER Working Paper No. 16078
Vigdor, Jacob L.; Ladd, Helen F.
National Bureau of Economic Research
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 early secondary school students reduce these disparities? We use administrative data on North Carolina public school students to corroborate earlier surveys that 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.
Descriptors: Reading Achievement, Reading Tests, Access to Computers, Computers, Internet, Secondary School Students, Racial Differences, Social Differences, Socioeconomic Background, Socioeconomic Influences, Achievement Gap, Disadvantaged, Public Schools, Scores, Mathematics Achievement, Mathematics Tests, Academic Achievement
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A