More Schools on the Net

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? It is not yet clear how, and to what degree, computers and the Internet should be integrated into K-12 curricula. PPI believes that the federal government must play a role in the process of evaluating the effectiveness of the various types of computer-based education.³⁹ But in the meantime, there is both real and symbolic value in wiring the nation's schools. Certainly the effort will accelerate our progress toward a digital information infrastructure.

THE TREND: () The ratio of students per computer has been dropping steadily, from 123 to 1 in 1983, to 9 to 1 in 1996. However, many of these computers are old and slow and cannot access the Internet or use new software applications. In recent years, the percentage of schools with at least one Internet connection has increased rapidly, from 35 percent in 1994, to 78 percent in 1997. Poorer schools lag about a year or so behind other schools in adoption rates. The percentage of classrooms with Internet access has gone from 3 percent to 27 percent in the same period.

THE DATA:

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