This session will explore the current findings of research being conducted to examine the effect of an existing technology knowledge gap in primary age students. The students in the study are from a Title I school in a rural community of Georgia. Findings of the research so far are showing skewed data because of computer skills or lack thereof.
Many students come from homes with little to no technology experience at home. The students with no technology experience are expected, just as the ones who have prior exposure to take an online assessment to determine their reading and math level. Schools use the data form the tests to place students in classes based on the test scores the students receive. Observations show some students placed in higher-level classes because of high scores on the test are sometimes falling behind. This observation was linked to the higher ability of navigation skills on computers leading to higher scores on the test. The opposite is true of students with no technology background.