TY  - JOUR
AU  - Rouse,Cecilia E.
AU  - Krueger,Alan B.
TI  - Putting Computerized Instruction to the Test: A Randomized Evaluation of a "Scientifically-based" Reading Program
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 10315
PY  - 2004
Y2  - February 2004
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10315
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w10315.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Cecilia E. Rouse
Industrial Relations Section
Firestone Library
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544-1013
Tel: 609/258-6478
Fax: 609/258-0549
E-Mail: rouse@princeton.edu

Alan B. Krueger
Industrial Relations Section
Firestone Library
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544
Tel: 609/258-4046
Fax: 609/258-2907
E-Mail: akrueger@princeton.edu
AB  - Although schools across the country are investing heavily in computers in the classroom, there is surprisingly little evidence that they actually improve student achievement. In this paper we present results from a randomized study of a well-defined use of computers in schools: a popular instructional computer program, known as Fast ForWord, which is designed to improve language and reading skills. We assess the impact of the program using four different measures of language and reading ability. Our estimates suggest that while use of the computer program may improve some aspects of students' language skills, it does not appear that these gains translate into a broader measure of language acquisition or into actual reading skills.
ER  -