Research Claims that Computers do not Improve Standardised Test Scores

The Age, 20 July 2009; Canberra Times, 21 July 2009

Research from Duke University in the Unites States has claimed that student access to a computer impairs their performance in reading and mathematics.

Professor Jacob Vigdor argued that, while children in homes with computers tended to perform better on literacy and numeracy benchmark tests, there were a range of other socioeconomic factors that were influencing their academic performance.

Professor Vidgor assessed the performance of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds before and after their families acquired a computer. His study found 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’.

According to Professor Vigdor’s research, ‘one of the biggest problems with home computer use appeared to be that internet access and its associated web surfing and game playing crowded out productive computer use, and, often, homework’.

However, Professor Vigdor also noted that access to computers improved other skills for students that were not measured directly by standardised literacy and numeracy tests.

 

 

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