Key Takeaways from NAEP Long-Term Trends: Technology Access
Photo by Ron Lach
By: Ashley Donaldson Burle & Andrew Diemer
Last week, the PRiME Center released a policy brief highlighting results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trend (LTT) Assessment. The LTT assessment is designed to measure students’ national-level performance and progress in mathematics and reading with the goal of illustrating long-term trends and changes. Based on a nationally-representative sample of 9-year-old students, overall results indicate unprecedented achievement declines in both math and reading during the pandemic, with the largest drops. among lower-achieving, minority, and lower-SES students.
This blog emphasizes key takeaways from one specific section of the 2022 NAEP LTT findings: technology access. We discuss these takeaways within the context of previous PRiME findings related to Missouri students’ technology access, given the prevalence of technology-based learning in schools over the last three academic years. Findings from the NAEP LTT suggest:
1. Access to devices has become common for students with higher-performers having the most access.
Most (83%) of higher-performing students taking either the reading or math assessment recalled having access to a device (desktop computer, laptop, or tablet) all the time as compared to some (58%) of lower-performing students. Slightly more (63%) lower-performing students taking the math assessment recalled having access to a device all the time. Overall, while access to devices was more frequently reported, disparities exist.
2. Internet access lags behind access to devices for all students with lower-performing students most disadvantaged.
Higher-performing students taking either the reading and math assessments reported similar access to high-speed internet some of the time (43% and 42% respectively), while approximately 1 out of 4 (26%) of lower-performing students reported the same level of access to high-speed internet. While results suggest a need for improvement in internet access for all students, lower-performing students were especially disadvantaged. Importantly, without internet access all of the time, students may not be able to learn remotely at all.
Technology Access in Missouri
A prior PRiME brief highlighted Missouri’s weak technological infrastructure and lack of adequate and reliable internet (ranking 42nd in the nation for broadband connectivity). In our Reopening Profile, we found nearly one in five (18%) Missouri students did not have home internet access. In examining students’ access to devices and internet based on districts’ reopening plans, 80% of districts planned to supply a device to some or all students while less than half (41%) indicated they would provide community- or home-based internet access. We also found approximately one out of three Missouri districts were not planning to provide devices and internet access to remote learners. Further, we found the smallest districts, the lowest-spending districts, and those districts with the highest proportion of White students were the least likely to provide devices and internet access, highlighting technological inequities and suggesting students in Missouri’s rural districts were the most technologically disadvantaged.
Conclusion
We have highlighted clear gaps in technology access that likely have exacerbated existing achievement gaps. Though Missouri has dedicated attention to improving digital infrastructure, given the results of the NAEP and Missouri’s in-state MAP assessment, vulnerable students continue to lack technological resources.
Read our policy brief to learn more about the 2022 NAEP LTT assessment findings.
