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Home Computers Equal Lower Test Scores

Posted by timothy on from the but-better-typing-speed dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Politicians and education activists have long sought to eliminate the 'digital divide' by guaranteeing universal access to home computers, and in some cases to high-speed Internet service. But a Duke University study finds these efforts would actually widen the achievement gap in math and reading scores. Students in grades five through eight, particularly those from disadvantaged families, tend to post lower scores once these technologies arrive in their homes."

8 of 278 comments (clear)

  1. Well, no shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Without a computer you have to learn how to think.

    1. Re:Well, no shit by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 5, Insightful

      higher test scores != learning more

      More and more school districts and states are moving towards using standardized tests to measure "learning". If you only teach students to score well on those tests then they aren't "learning" as much as they are "memorizing facts". Teaching kids how to think, critical thinking, reasoning, etc will benefit them (and the rest of us) much more in the long run ... there just aren't any easy ways to measure that kind of performance.

      You teach a kid 'how to think' and then sit them in front of 'World of Goo', 'Gears', etc and you'll see they can 'think'.

    2. Re:Well, no shit by kvezach · · Score: 5, Informative

      The distortion of standardized test scores as they are applied for optimization purposes is just another example of Campbell's law. When it becomes important to optimize the score, the score gets optimized even at the expense of what it was supposed to measure. As you say, the score may be sensible enough on its own, but optimization twists it.

  2. from the article by mikesd81 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    what it boils down to:

    Vigdor and Ladd concluded that home computers are put to more productive use in households where parental monitoring is more effective. In disadvantaged households, parents are less likely to monitor children’s computer use and guide children in using computers for educational purposes.

    --
    That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
    1. Re:from the article by ShakaUVM · · Score: 5, Insightful

      >>In disadvantaged households, parents are less likely to monitor children's computer use and guide children in using computers for educational purposes.

      Which is why the entire digital divide issue is stupid, in my opinion.

      Unless a kid is growing up without any exposure to computers at all, he'll be technologically proficient by the time he graduates. Study after study show that using technology often hurts, instead of helps, student performance.

      I say this as someone who teaches teachers how to use technology in the classroom, and I start every lecture by saying, "Only use it when there's a damn good reason to do so."

      And there *are* good reasons to do so. Sometimes. But the way that most schools use computers is nothing short of neglect.

  3. The focus has to be on guiding students by brunes69 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Young children are thirsty for knnowledge. Anyone who has had any exposure to a 6-8 year old in the "why daddy" stage knows this. The problem is this is not fostered in many kids. If, at this stage, children are taught how to answer their own questions, using the tools available to them, then it will foster a lifetime of learning.

    This is what my parents did with me, although in my day it was "why don't you go get the encyclopedia and we will look it up together?". Nowadays it should be "why don't we go look at the computer together". Guided by a parent, from a YOUNG AGE, this helps in several ways

    - It teaches kids that, if they have questions, the materials are available to help them. They don't have to sit in ignorance just because they don't know the answer.

    - It teaches kids how to find information when they need it

    - It teaches kids how to think critically about that information, and discard the good from the bad.

     

  4. Computers are tools, not miracles by whizbang77045 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We somehow take technology, and expect miracles from it, far beyond what the users are capable of doing. Computers are tools, and they are only going to produce what the users are willing to invest in them of their time and effort. Disadvantaged kids need to learn how to study and investigate, before they will be able to use a computer to its potential as a learning aid. If they don't read or investigate now, computers aren't going to produce some sort of overnight change.

  5. Re:This shows the uselessness of test scores by jimmyfrank · · Score: 5, Funny

    definitely getting high... oh nm