Computer use and (lower?) math achievement
Ed. Research, Ed. Tech. March 25th, 2008
This is what I get for playing around with the NAEP Data Explorer:
So, the use percentages are a bit depressing. But, it gets worse…much worse…
This is 4th graders, 2007, and, yes…the score for the group of students who report daily or almost daily use of computers at school for math is (statistically significantly) lower than all of the other groups.
The smart thing may have been to tuck these findings in my back pocket and walk away. But, I’d bet that if we controlled for a bunch of demographic variables and even a baseline math score, those differences would disappear. I’ll have to dig a little further…
Tags: achievement, computers, math, NAEP
I would like to know how they used the computers? Was it with software-based programs? Was it using 2.0 tools to demonstrate learning?
Thanks for the post.
Looking forward to updates.
Dan Rehman
Well, fortunately or unfortunately, this is all very coarse/aggregate survey data. I do plan to dig deeper, though. Thanks for stopping by.
I have been studying the effect of computers on student’s achievement in mathematics for last few months. I analyzed the Education Longitudinal Study data pertaining to high school students. My findings are very similar to NAEP data presented on this site.
I also would like to read more about this study. How are the computers being used is an important question. Amir fill in the blanks if you can.
Well, the data I am looking at is ELS 2002. It is a survey conducted by US ED using a national sample of 15,000 HS students from 752 public and private schools. Specific uses of computer in math class include;solve math problems, graphing, analayze data, drill and practice, review, and apply learning. None of the uses were significantly related to achievement. If anyone is a teacher especially a math teacher please share your experience teaching with computers (CAI).
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