Computer users score better at school

Posted on Thursday, January 26 2006 @ 0:36 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
A study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that school students who are established computer users tend to perform better in key school subjects than those with limited experience or a lack of confidence in their ability to perform basic computer functions.
Nearly three out of four students on average in OECD countries - and in Canada, Iceland and Sweden nine out of 10 – use computers at home several times each week. In contrast, only 44% use computers frequently at school (see Figure 4). In some countries, the discrepancy between home and school use is marked: Germany has the lowest percentage of frequent computer users at school among OECD countries (23%) but a high proportion of frequent users at home (82%) (see Figure 3).

The relationship with student performance in mathematics is striking. Students who have used computers for several years mostly perform better than average. By contrast, those who don’t have access to computers or who have been using computers for only a short time tend to lag behind their class year.

According to the OECD study, students who had been using computers for less than one year (10% of the total sample) scored well below the OECD average. By contrast, students who had been using computers for more than five years (37% of the total sample) scored well above the OECD average.
You can read the full conclusions over here.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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