Date

7-21-2022

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (EdD)

Chair

Jeffrey S. Savage

Primary Subject Area

Education, General

Keywords

student achievement, technology usage, minority students, examination scores

Disciplines

Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Methods

Abstract

This causal-comparative study sought to assess group differences between teachers’ level of technology usage and minority students’ (i.e., Black and Hispanic) Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) scores in grades 6-8 in Georgia public schools. This study adds to the body of literature that indicates academic gains from using digital technology in the classrooms and ensuring that digital technology interconnects with quality instruction to drive academic performance for minority students. The current study analyzed Teachers’ Attitude Towards Computers (TAC) and students’ examination scores from the 2021 to 2022 English, Reading, and Math MAP assessment to determine whether teachers’ technology usage level affects minority students’ examination scores. The minority students’ examination scores were self-reported by teachers who taught such students in the specified content area on the MAP examination test. The data collection extracted the teachers’ level of technology usage from the TAC questionnaire system and compared minority students’ examination scores to detect whether a significant difference exists. The scores from the TAC questionnaire compared each group of teachers (i.e., high and low levels of technology usage) to that of minority students’ MAP scores using three independent t tests to focus on group differences. The study failed to reject the null hypotheses at the 95% confidence level; hence teachers’ level of technology usage had no statistically significant influence on minority students’ MAP examination scores. Recommendations for future research include conducting additional studies in more geographic areas, grade levels, and subjects and investigating the quality of instruction teachers deliver when using technology.

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