I’m working on a paper I’ll be presenting at AERA in New York in a few weeks.  The paper is essentially about what I refer to as the digital horserace; it’s an examination of 4th grade student computer use across the states and across the years.  The data (which come from NAEP) are fascinating!  There’s so much to write about that I’m having to limit myself to academic publishing standards.  So, I think I’ll use this blog as a space to report regularly on some of the findings.  Let’s start with this…

In 2007, teachers across the sampled schools were asked the degree to which their 4th grade students used computers to extend learning.  What percentage of teachers do you think said their students “never or hardly ever” use computers this way?  Nationally, the statistic is 44%.  Teachers in 14 states report rates that are (statistically significantly) greater (i.e. less computer use) than the national average.  If you click on the image below, you can see which states are higher and lower than the national average.

In Vermont, 67% of the teachers report that their 4th grade students never or hardly ever use computers to extend math learning.  In Hawaii, that number rises to 73%!  Nearly 3/4 of all teachers in Hawaii report that their students never or hardly ever use computers to extend math learning.

And, BTW, if you look at the other end of the spectrum, 4% of teachers report that their 4th grade students use computer every day or almost every day to extend math learning.  Five states are higher than the national average (Florida, Mississippi, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming).  That figure follows (click on it to enlarge).

What do you think of these statistics and pictures?  Do they surprise you?

Tags: computers, education, states, technology, use