Classroom Technology in California Elementary Schools

The following project discusses the effects of classroom technology on student achievement in various California school districts. The data investigated came from existing studies and literature; as well as, comparisons of a random group of schools from each district's 2005-2006 California Standards Tests (CST). Common technologies used in the classrooms were compared among the different districts. The objective of this project was to try to establish a link between classroom technology and the level of student achievement. The results were unexpected; the research results demonstrated very little evidence that technology has an impact on increasing student achievement, but rather instructors' lesson plans and teaching strategies were more influential on improving student achievement.

Chapter One

This study aims to investigate the technology implemented in disadvantaged schools and whether these schools have found a positive impact on student achievement through the use of classroom technology. Classroom technology has become a national priority of the United States Department of Education over the past decade (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2005). Technology provides children, especially those with educational disadvantages, an opportunity to use different learning methods to increase comprehension of a difficult subject or lesson (2005). Since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, schools are held responsible for the success of their students; this can motivator schools to invest in classroom technology in order to enhance positive student achievement. Schools of low socioeconomic status had had difficulty providing students with up-to-date technology (2005). Over the past four years however, several grants and funding opportunities have been available to disadvantaged schools

The Problem