'Less is more?' - The effects of ICT on Dutch student performance examining the PISA

Abstract

In the limelight of the large-scale investments and dependence on information and communication technology (ICT) by schools, this thesis is composed as an evaluation of the effect of technology on academic performance. By using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment survey (PISA) 2015, a multilevel regression model is applied to assess the effect on math, reading and science performance of Dutch 15-year old students. The results show diverging effects in the type of ICT variable as well as the subject and performance level of the student. Generally, ICT availability at schools as well as ICT use at home for school purposes shows negative effects on the PISA results of the students. While both are significant, the ICT availability at school shows consistent negative results across all models but later robustness test shows that most of this effect is originated from the bottom-performing students. The results provide relevant information for guiding policy decisions for improving the academic performance of students and evidence that solely relying on ICT investments do not guarantee a positive impact on student performance.