1

Issue

NCES 2002–029

NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

April 2002

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

According to the National Center for Education Statistics

(NCES) report Teachers’ Tools for the 21st Century: A Report on Teachers’ Use of Technology, teachers in schools

with high poverty and schools with high minority enrollments were generally less likely to use computers or the

Internet for instruction during class time than teachers in

schools with low poverty and schools with low minority

enrollment in 1999 (Smerdon et al. 2000). This gap existed

despite the fact that nearly all public schools had access to

the Internet, regardless of poverty level (Williams 2000).

Two factors that may be related to teachers’ use of computers and the Internet are whether they have access to the

Internet in their classrooms and the level of support they

receive for the use of the Internet (Ronnkvist, Dexter, and

Anderson 2000). This Issue Brief presents data from two

surveys conducted through NCES’ Fast Response Survey

System (FRSS)—a 1999 survey of public school Internet

access and a 1999 survey of public school teachers’ use of

computers and the Internet—to examine whether teachers

who report having classroom access and support (as measured by both training and assistance for Internet use) are

more likely to report using computers and the Internet for

instruction during class time. This Issue Brief also examines

teacher-reported school-level differences in support for

Internet use and classroom access to the Internet.

Does universal school-level Internet access

mean universal instructional use of the

Internet?

In 1999, 95 percent of all public schools had Internet access

(Williams 2000). This percentage did not vary by the concentration of poor students in the school. Despite similar

school-level access, 63 percent of academic teachers in

schools with the lowest enrollment of poor students (less

than 11 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price

lunch) reported that they used computers or the Internet for

instruction during class time, while 47 percent of teachers

in schools with 50 to 70 percent of students eligible reported

this use (Smerdon et al. 2000, 23).1 Furthermore, 56 percent of teachers in schools with less than 6 percent minority

enrollment used computers or the Internet for instruction,

while 45 percent of teachers in schools with minority enrollment of 50 percent or more reported this use.2

What resources encourage increased use?

Overall, 53 percent of teachers reported classroom-level

access to the Internet, 80 percent of teachers reported that

Table 1.—Percent of public school teachers reporting use of

computers or the Internet for instruction during class

time, by the availability of resources: 1999

NOTE: Teachers who reported that the Internet was not available to them

anywhere in the school were excluded from the analyses presented in this table.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Fast Response Survey System, “Public School Teachers Use of Computers and the

Internet,” FRSS 70, 1999.

Brief

BEYOND SCHOOL-LEVEL INTERNET

ACCESS: SUPPORT FOR

INSTRUCTIONAL USE OF

TECHNOLOGY

Teachers reporting

instructional use

of computers or

the Internet during

Availability of resources class time

All public schools 52

Classroom-level access to the Internet

Access 65

No access 38

Training in use of Internet

Training available 56

Training not available 43

Don’t know if training is available 34

Assistance in use of Internet

Assistance available 56

Assistance not available 42

training in use of the Internet was available to them, 75

percent of teachers reported that assistance in use of the

Internet was available to them, and 43 percent of teachers

reported having all three resources (table 2). Each of these

resources was related to the likelihood that teachers also

reported using the Internet for instruction. Sixty-five percent of teachers reporting classroom access to the Internet

reported using computers or the Internet for instruction

during class time, compared with 38 percent of teachers

reporting no classroom access (table 1). Similarly, 56 percent of teachers who reported that training was available to

them from their state, district, or school in the use of the

Internet reported using computers or the Internet for instruction during class time, compared with 43 percent of

teachers who said training was not available and 34 percent of those who did not know. Fifty-six percent of teachers reporting availability of technical assistance for using

the Internet reported using computers or the Internet for

instruction during class time, compared with 42 percent of

teachers who said assistance was not available.

Teachers were most likely to use the Internet for instruction

during class time when they reported that both classroom-
2

NOTE: For this figure, the training and assistance variables were combined into one dichotomous variable that indicated whether or not both training and assistance were

available. Teachers who reported that the Internet was not available to them anywhere in the school were excluded from the analyses presented in this figure.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System, “Public School Teachers Use of Computers and the Internet,”

FRSS 70, 1999.

level access and support in the form of training and assistance were available to them. Sixty-eight percent of teachers reporting classroom access to the Internet and the availability of training and assistance for using the Internet reported using computers or the Internet for instruction during class time, compared with 52 percent of teachers who

reported classroom access but not training and assistance,

40 percent of those who reported training and assistance

but no classroom access, and 37 percent of those who reported neither classroom access nor training and assistance

(figure 1).

Are some teachers more likely than others to

use the Internet when they have classroom

access and support?

Among teachers who reported classroom Internet access and

the availability of training and assistance for the Internet,

the school-level disparities in reported use discussed earlier

no longer appear. Of teachers reporting classroom Internet

access and the availability of training and assistance for the

Internet, 68 percent reported the use of computers or the

Internet for instruction during class time (figure 1). No statistically significant differences based on school poverty

concentration or school minority enrollment were found

(data not shown).

What school characteristics are related to the

presence of classroom Internet access and

support?

Generally, teachers in schools with high enrollment of poor

students were less likely to report classroom Internet access

and the availability of training and assistance in the use of

the Internet. Teachers in schools with 50 percent or more of

students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were less

likely than teachers in schools with 11 to 30 percent of students eligible to report that the Internet was available in

their classroom, and they were less likely than teachers in

schools with less than 50 percent of students eligible to report that training in the use of the Internet was available

(table 2). Teachers in schools with more than 70 percent of

students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were less

likely than teachers in schools with less than 50 percent of

students eligible to report that assistance in the use of the

Internet was available.

Overall, half or less of all teachers reported the availability

of all three resources—classroom Internet access, and training and assistance for Internet use (table 2). Differences in

classroom access, training, and assistance existed by the level

of minority enrollment in a teacher’s school. Teachers in

schools with minority enrollment of 50 percent or more were

less likely than those in schools with less than 50 percent

minority enrollment to report having a combination of all

three resources—classroom Internet access, training in the

use of the Internet, and assistance in the use of the Internet—

as well as having each resource individually.

Conclusion

Classroom-level access to the Internet and support in the

form of training and assistance appear to be important factors in instructional use of the Internet during class time.

Half or less of teachers reported that all three resources were

available, and of these teachers, about two-thirds indicated

that they used computers or the Internet for instruction during class time. Furthermore, among teachers who reported

having all of these resources, the percentage reporting instructional use of computers or the Internet during class

Training and assistance available, but not 

classroom Internet access

Classroom Internet access available, but not 

training and assistance

Training and assistance in use of the Internet 

and classroom Internet access available

Neither classroom Internet access nor 

training and assistance available

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percent

68

52

40 37

Figure 1.—Percentage of teachers reporting use of computers or the Internet for instruction during class time, by availability of

resources: 1999
3

The Issue Brief series presents information on education topics of current interest. All estimates shown are based on samples and are subject to sampling variability. All

differences are statistically significant at the .05 level. In the design, conduct, and data processing of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys, efforts are made

to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors, such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing error, or other systematic error.

This Issue Brief was prepared by Lawrence Lanahan of the Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI), with analytic assistance from Yann-Yann Shieh of ESSI. This Issue Brief

was desktopped by Carol Rohr of Pinkerton Computer Consultants, Inc. For further information, contact Edith McArthur, NCES, at 202–502–7393 or Edith.McArthur@ed.gov.

To order additional copies of this Issue Brief or other NCES publications, call 1–877–4ED–Pubs. NCES publications are also available on the Internet at http://nces.ed.gov.

Table 2.—Percent of public school teachers reporting the availability of various Internet-related resources, by selected school

characteristics: 1999

NOTE: Teachers who reported that the Internet was not available to them anywhere in the school were excluded from the analyses presented in this table.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Response Survey System, “Public School Teachers Use of Computers and the Internet,”

FRSS 70, 1999.

time did not vary by the proportion of poor and minority

students at these teachers’ schools. However, teachers in

schools with high enrollments of poor and minority students were generally less likely to report the availability of

these resources.

The rapid pace of change in the world of education technology necessitates the further collection of data. In the year

after these data were collected alone, the proportion of instructional rooms with internet access in U.S. public schools

rose, from 64 percent in 1999 to 77 percent in 2000

(Cattagni and Farris 2001). In addition, there is much more

to be learned about teachers’ instructional use of technology. Data on digital content used in classrooms, online assessments, the quality and duration of instances of instructional use of technology, and other areas would further our

ability to understand how technology is changing the

nation’s classrooms. Other NCES survey programs, such as

the Schools and Staffing Survey and the National Assessment of Educational Progress, will be publishing more data

on teachers’ use of technology in the next few years.

1 As was the case in the Smerdon et al. analyses, the remainder of this report focuses on teachers in schools with Internet

access.

2 The relationship between poverty concentration and minority enrollment should be considered when interpreting

data presented in this report; schools with a high minority

enrollment were also more likely to have a high poverty

concentration.

References

Cattagni, A. and Farris, E. 2001. Internet Access in U.S.

Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994–2000 (NCES 2001–

071). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for

Education Statistics. Washington, DC: Available: http://

nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001071

Ronnkvist, A., Dexter, S.L., and Anderson, R.E. 2000. Technology Support: Its Depth, Breadth and Impact in America’s

Schools. Irvine, CA: Center for Research on Information

Technology and Organizations, University of California,

Irvine and University of Minnesota. Available: http://

www.crito.uci.edu/tlc/findings/technology-support

Smerdon, B., Cronen, S., Lanahan, L., Anderson, J., Iannotti,

N., and Angeles, J. 2000. Teachers’ Tools for the 21st Century: A Report on Teachers’ Use of Technology (NCES

2000–102). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: Available:

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000102

Williams, C. 2000. Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools

and Classrooms: 1994–99 (NCES 2000–086). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?

pubid=2000086

Training and assistance in use of the

Classroom-level Training in Assistance Internet, and classaccess to the use of the in use of room-level access

School characteristics Internet Internet the Internet to the Internet

All public schools 53 80 75 43

Percent of students eligible for free or

reduced-price school lunch

Less than 11 percent 57 90 82 48

11–30 percent 60 85 79 49

31–49 percent 56 86 79 44

50–70 percent 44 72 72 33

71 percent or more 44 67 62 36

Percent minority enrollment

Less than 6 percent 58 82 76 46

6–20 percent 61 87 79 50

21–49 percent 55 83 81 44

50 percent or more 40 70 65 31

Teachers reporting the availability of resources:
Beyond School-Level Internet Access: Support for

Instructional Use of Technology NCES 2002–029

The Issue Brief series presents information on education topics of current interest.

IssueBrief

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