A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE:
March 1, 1999

Contact: David Thomas
(202) 401-1579

According to a new survey, the nation's schools are closing in on the National Educational Technology Goal of connecting all classrooms to the "information superhighway" by the year 2000.

"Vice President Gore and I have set a goal of connecting every classroom in America to the Internet by the year 2000," said President Clinton. "I am pleased that these data show that more than half of all classrooms are connected - nearly twice as many connections as last year. And thanks to new "e-rate" discounts that help schools and libraries connect to the Internet, we will reach our goal by the year 2000. By giving our children the skills they need to succeed in the jobs of the future, we will build a stronger nation for the 21st Century."

An issue brief, released by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), showed that 51 percent of instructional rooms -- classrooms, computer or other labs, school libraries, and media centers -- had Internet access in 1998. This is nearly a two-fold increase from 27 percent in 1997, and shows steady growth from 1994, when only three percent of instructional rooms were connected to the Internet.

"We're making significant strides to get technology to the place where children learn -- the classroom," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said.

According to the report, Internet Access in Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-1998, the percentage of schools with Internet access increased from 78 percent in 1997 to 89 percent in 1998, and more than doubled from the 35 percent in 1994, when NCES conducted the first annual survey.

In a significant turnabout since 1997, the survey also showed that in 1998, high poverty and smaller schools were as likely to have access to the Internet as low poverty and larger schools. "The 'digital divide' is closing in our nation's schools," Riley said. "But we have to close the continuing divide in our nation's classrooms."

Regarding teachers' use of technology, Clinton said that "we must make sure that teachers are as comfortable with a computer as they are with the chalkboard. That is why Congress should support my $800 million educational technology initiative -including more than $100 million to train teachers in the latest technology." A recently released NCES report on teacher quality indicates that only 20 percent of teachers surveyed in 1998 said they felt "very well prepared" to use modern technology in schools.

"Providing funds for increased teacher training in technology is critical," Riley said. "We can't expect our students to learn to challenging standards and benefit from our investment in educational technologies if we don't ensure that teachers are well prepared to integrate technology throughout the curriculum."

Riley added that the E-rate must continue as another important effort to bring more classrooms and schools online. The E-rate grew out of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to ensure that all eligible schools and libraries in the U.S. have affordable access to advanced technology.

The E-rate began in January 1998, and since then $1.7 billion has been committed to thousands of schools and libraries nationwide for discounted telecommunications services. The NCES survey was sent out to a nationally representative sample of almost 1000 public elementary and secondary schools in the fall of 1998. Data were collected on the prevalence of Internet access, the types of Internet capabilities schools make available, use of advanced telecommunications by schools and teachers, and sources of support for advanced telecommunications in schools.

The new report also found:

• Internet connectivity in 1997 the poorest schools was 63 percent compared to 88 percent in the wealthiest schools -- a digital divide of 25 percent. By 1998, the differences between these two types of schools in connectivity were no longer significant;
• Schools in the Northeast had a lower proportion of rooms connected to the Internet than in the Southeast, Central and West (39 percent compared to 51, 61, and 51 percent, respectively);
• In 1996, 74 percent of schools with Internet access were connecting using a dial-up connection. In comparison, 50 percent in 1997 and 22 percent in 1998 were using this type of connection. On the other hand, the percentage of schools using dedicated lines has increased -- while in 1996, 39 percent and in 1997, 45 percent of public schools with Internet access were using such higher speed connections, by 1998, 65 percent of the schools were using these higher speed connections; and
• While the ratio of students per instructional computer is approaching the ratio recommended by the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (4 to 5 students per computer), the ratio of students to computers with Internet access is nearly double the recommended ratio (12 to 13 students per Internet-connected computer).

The two-page issue brief is accessible at the Internet address: http://nces.ed.gov.