According to the consulting firm Interactive Inc., students in Henrico Virginia's one-to-one laptop program engaged in more problem solving, research, communication, teamwork and community-based assignments as a result of their laptop use. Those findings come from the third of four evaluations of the program by Interactive Inc. The final report will be released this fall.

Approximately 14,550 high school students in Henrico are issued Dell computers each year. According to the evaluation, those students have higher scores in world history, biology, reading and chemistry than those who did not use the laptops. Test scores were lower for the one-to-one students in two areas: algebra and writing. Dale Mann, Managing Director of Interactive Inc, attributed this to the fact that the students were unable to use their accustomed laptop resources on the Standards of Learning tests, which required a graphing calculator (rather than a computer) for algebra and pencil and paper for writing.

On other fronts, the laptop-using students reported that school is more fun and that they are more interested in school. They say that their teachers lecture less and, instead, walk around the room, interacting with students. The students also report that they enjoy more group projects and differentiated instruction as part of the laptop program. Teachers also see growing morale, and report using the laptops more to analyze data, communicate and present new material.

According to a local newspaper report:

The study found that 98 percent of all parents have allowed their children to take part in Henrico's laptop program. Of those, 81 percent say the schools have done a good job of integrating computers into instruction and are satisfied with Internet filtering.

Mann said the results show that the county has made marked improvement with the laptop initiative since he began the survey in 2005.

Source : Times Dispatch, Laptop use tied to higher student scores , by Lisa Crutchfield