When Maine talks about students and laptops, people listen. That’s because the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI), which places laptops in the hands of every 7th and 8th grader in the state, is an ambitious and high-profile program that casts light on what happens when students are given ubiquitous access to computing power. Launched in 2002, MLTI provides hardware, software, technical assistance and targeted professional development to all of Maine’s 243 middle schools.

Is Maine’s big investment paying off? It certainly is when it comes to writing skills, according to a recent research report by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) at the University of Southern Maine. The first in a series of studies aimed at evaluating Maine's pioneering laptop program, Maine's Middle School Laptop Program: Creating Better Writers concludes that the use of laptops improves scores on writing skills assessments, that more frequent use is linked to higher scores, and that writing skills of laptop users transfer to writing without a laptop.

These findings are particularly reassuring given the challenges faced by researchers attempting to measure progress on authentic tasks and 21 st century skills using traditional assessments. As the report’s author, Dr. David Silvernail, put it in a 2005 briefing, “A major goal of Maine’s laptop program has been to help students acquire 21 st Century skills using technology. However, the current [tests are] designed to assess, at best, gateway skills and basic knowledge; skills and knowledge which may be necessary, but not sufficient for the demands of the 21 st century.” Furthermore, he pointed out that the state tests, delivered only once in a year, do not measure growth on the part of individual students. Rather, they provide a big-picture look at how this year’s students differ from last year’s.

To address this challenge, the study looked at eighth grade writing scores on the state’s standardized test, the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA), for two time periods: the year 2000, prior to the start of the statewide laptop program, and 2005, several years after the initial implementation of the program. The findings: forty nine percent of eighth-graders were proficient in writing in 2005, compared to 29 percent in 2000. Additionally, an average student in 2005 scored better than approximately two-thirds of all students in 2000.

According to Silvernail:

Undoubtedly, other factors beyond implementation of the laptop program may have contributed to improved writing performance over the course of five years (implementing new writing programs in schools, more teacher professional development, etc.), but since these did not occur in all Maine middle schools, and the results are based on the total population of all 8th graders and all Maine middle schools, the results may be attributed, at least in part, to the laptop program.

Taking a Closer Look

In addition to looking at test results, the study reported on student and teacher responses to a number of questions. On completing the MEA, students are asked to provide information about their laptop use – whether they use the computer for drafts and final copy, final copy only, drafts only, or not at all. The researchers found that 21 percent of the students who did not use their laptops in writing met the state proficiency standards, as compared to 43.7 percent of the students in the “best use” group. In other words, the percentage of students meeting Maine’s writing proficiency standard doubled when laptops were used for drafts and final copy.

Other findings from the study include:

* Writing scores improved for all students regardless of whether the MEA was administered online or with pencil and paper. Clearly, laptops in classrooms helped students become better writers in general, not just better writers while using laptops.

* More than 70 percent of the students surveyed believe the laptops have facilitated their learning and over 80 percent report that the laptops increase editing and self-correcting of their work.

* More than 80 percent of teachers reported that the quality of their students' work has improved since the implementation of the laptop program.

In a press release, Maine’s education commissioner, Susan Gendron, and Governor John Baldacci both hailed the results as good news. According to Gendron:

The days are gone when our kids could learn math and reading and go out into the world and be successful. Whether going on to a four-year college, or to a job in an automotive shop, our students need problem-solving skills, the ability to research, experience working in teams, and other critical 21st century skills. This study shows one way in which students are improving learning through the use of technology.

Governor Baldacci, who has supported the laptop program and efforts to expand it into high school grades, said the report validates the anecdotal evidence coming from educators, students and parents alike. “For the first time,” he said, “we have proof that laptops make a difference in learning, and we also have quantifiable support for students' and teachers' belief that laptops make a difference in teaching and learning."

The MEPRI researchers are now working on two new research studies – one reporting on mathematics achievement and another involving a new assessment to measure students’ critical thinking skills by assessing their ability to evaluate web sites. Writes Silvernail in an email to K12 Blueprint:

Business leaders tell us that much work now and in the future will be project based. A project is worked on by teams of employees, and their task is to find new solutions. We can model this learning in classrooms with laptops, but it is difficult to assess. Standardized tests, by their very definition, require standardized procedures and approaches, and standardized answers—not new and unconventional thinking and the creation of new knowledge and solutions. So we need to develop these types of assessments, make sure they are rigorous, and then assess the impact of laptops on learning.

Many in the state of Maine – as well as around the country and the world – are eagerly awaiting the results of the next reports. Stay tuned for chapter two.

Click here to download the full report: Study: Middle school laptop program leads to writing improvements