N.H. plan targets test scores with laptops in low-performing schools

Seventh-graders gain access to computers

By Shari Rudavsky, Globe Correspondent, 9/14/2003

Mirroring a program that places laptops in the hands of every seventh- and eighth-grader in Maine, a pilot project in New Hampshire will put laptop computers in the hands of seventh graders and their teachers in as many as five of the state's poorest and lowest-performing schools.

The $1.2 million four-year program, funded by private business, is intended to improve student achievement. It was announced by Governor Craig Benson on Sept. 2 and will not require state funds. Preliminary results from the Maine program suggest that arming every seventh- and eight-grader with a laptop has improved class attendance, reduced disciplinary problems, and resulted in a higher quality of class work, Maine officials say.

If the New Hampshire pilot schools have similar results, the governor's office will ask the Legislature to expand the program statewide, said Keith Herman, Benson's policy advisor.

But some specialists warn that there is little evidence so far that the use of laptops will improve test scores.

Joshua Angrist, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has studied the effect of computer use on education in Israel. His work suggests that while students and teachers liked using the machines, classroom computers have had little effect on test scores.

"The evidence for computer-aided instruction is very weak," Angrist said. "This just doesn't seem to be an effective way of teaching. It's human interaction that stimulates kids."

Technology devotees like Benson -- who before becoming governor headed Cabletron Systems, a global technology company -- cite other studies more favorable to computers. For example, Henrico County, Va., showed gains in the proportion of passing scores on standardized tests after providing laptops to every high and middle school student.

Commissioner of Education Nicholas Donohue welcomed the governor's initiative. The state's classrooms already have an average of 5.3 students for each computer, but providing a laptop for each student in a class will mean "a dramatic change" in the use of computers, Donohue said. "The idea of putting technology closer to young people in schools so they can learn from it is a good one," he said. "This is a big step in the right direction."

Not every principal completely welcomed the chance to win laptops for their seventh graders. While the machines themselves are free, it's not clear who will cover the costs of assessing their effect, pointed out Mary Jolles, principal of Colebrook Elementary School, a K-8 school in the northern tip of the state.

Jolles also expresed concern about the time allotted to train teachers and the fast-approaching deadline to submit a proposal. "I don't want to sound ungrateful," Jolles said, but at this time, "we don't have information to know whether we would want to apply for the program." Twenty of the state's 69 middle and junior high schools, chosen for their low test scores and high property tax rates, will submit proposals detailing how they would use the laptops. A panel of business leaders, teachers, and Benson will choose the winners in November, and the laptops will enter the schools in January.

"We're looking for those schools that will integrate the use of laptops for all curriculum," Herman said. "The goal here is to have computers help educate the student. That's a dramatic shift in philosophy."

Maine, which started its program last fall with the seventh grade, expanded it this year to include eighth-graders. About 37,000 middle school students and their teachers in 241 schools now have iBook computers, said Tony Sprague, project manager for the Maine Learning Technology Inititiative.

Funded by $37 million program from the state, the Maine program allows each school to determine how to employ the laptops.

"We're using this in ways to support the curriculum the schools already have in place and to provide them with new resources, new ways of doing things," Sprague said. "One thing that everyone has to pay attention to is keeping attention on education and what the goals are there and not focusing on the technology itself." Now the state is exploring ways to expand the program further to include seventh- through 12th-graders, which would mean providing almost 100,000 machines.

Sprague said that anecdotal evidence suggests that the laptops have had a positive impact, but there will be no hard evidence until next year, when educators see the eighth-grade standardized test results for the first class to have the computers, Sprague said.

Still, business leaders like those who are helping to fund the New Hampshire program are convinced that technology can make a difference in the classroom. Benson's office has raised about half of the $1.2 million needed and will continue fund-raising throughout the fall, Herman said.

Citizens Bank New Hampshire has pledged support, although Debra Miller, the company's director of public affairs, declined to say how much the company has contributed. "We feel that this is a good way to begin to prepare the future work force," she said.