A STUDENT FIXED EFFECTS APPROACH: DOES COMPUTER USE IN CLASSROOMS IMPROVE TESTSCORES?

Abstract

At present, there is no consensus on whether or not computer-aided instruction (CAI) benefits academic achievement. Existing literature shows mixed evidence for the effects of CAI. That is, null or negative effects of classroom computer use on testscores. This paper seeks to identify the causal effect of computer use on academic achievement using data from the 2015 wave of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS:2015). Student fixed effects as well as a recently developed method to evaluate selection bias by Oster (2019) are used to determine these estimates. In addition, this thesis explores if CAI benefits cognitive skills, non-test outcomes and individualised learning. This thesis therefore aims to investigate and explain the divergence of findings in the CAI literature.