Brief Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement
Jacob Vigdor, Helen Ladd
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Does differential access to computer technology at home compound the educational disparities between the rich and the poor? Authors examine the arrival of broadband service in North Carolina between 2000 and 2005, using data on the state's public school students and earlier surveys documenting broad racial and socioeconomic gaps in home computer access and use. The introduction of home computer technology is associated with modest but statistically significant and persistent negative impacts on student math and reading test scores, thus broadening math and reading achievement gaps. They conclude that home computer technology is put to more productive use in households with more effective parental monitoring.
Research Areas Education
Tags K-12 education