The Technology Connections initiative in the Wake County Public School System and its effect on scale scores and passing rates on state tests

To determine the effects of the Technology Connections initiative on students scale scores on eighth-grade North Carolina End-of-Grade Tests in reading and mathematics and on the Multiple-Choice and Performance North Carolina Tests of Computer Skills, the researcher used a quasi-experimental nonequivalent group. The population for the pre-post group for the reading and mathematics tests consisted students in the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2000-2001. The population for the post test-only group consisted of students who were administered one or both parts of the Tests of Computer Skills. The experimental group consisted of students in schools that were Technology Connections Leader Schools, had computers in their classrooms, and were instructed using constructivist methods. The experimental and control groups had access to computer labs, but the control group did not have computers in their classrooms, nor were control group teachers trained in constructivist theory.;A pooled 2-tailed t tests was computed on students' scale scores for the reading and the math tests for 10 subgroups designated in No Child Left Behind legislation. No statistical significance was found for any subgroup for the reading test and only the Asian subgroup in the experimental group realized higher gains in scale scores on the math test.;There was no statistical significance in students' scale scores on either the multiple-choice or performance section of the computer skills tests with the following exceptions: (a) the Black subgroup in the Technology Connections schools had a lower mean on the multiple-choice test than the non-Technology Connections schools; (b) and both the Black subgroup and the Economically Disadvantaged subgroup in the Technology Connections schools had a lower mean on the performance section of the test. While the Technology Connections initiative and philosophy was no more or less effective than traditional methods with regard to achievement for most students, it appeared to have a negative impact on several subgroups.