Department of Education

ILOILO CITY NATIONAL HIGHSCHOOL

Senior High School Deprartment
M.H. Del Pilar St. Molo Iloilo City
S.Y. 2018-2019

The Effects of Technology on Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

Di↵erent technologies have been implemented in the educational system in Norway over the
last decade and it has been a subject of debate whether the use of technology enhances
students’ educational outcomes. The aim of this master thesis is therefore to analyze the causal
e↵ect of the one-to-one laptop program in upper secondary education in Norway on the
performance in three common core subjects: first-choice form of Norwegian, second-choice
form of Norwegian, and English. The analysis is performed on a sample of 289 upper secondary
schools in the time period from 2003 to 2016. We exploit data on average grades at school level
and the rollout of the one-to-one laptop program across the country by using a generalized
di↵erence-in-di↵erence approach and an event study specification. The results of this study
indicate no clear benefits of technology use on academic performance in upper secondary
education as no statistically significant e↵ects are found. However, the true e↵ect might be
attenuated as the impact of laptops on students’ academic performance is complex, i.e. there
are both positive and negative e↵ects, and performance is only reported as an average at
school level. The results presented in this thesis can be an important contribution to the
literature in this field as little research has been conducted in Norway to interpret the causal
relationship between technology and educational outcomes. The findings can hopefully inspire
future research in the field to increase the knowledge on technology-led education. Moreover,
it may also function as input for future decision making in the Norwegian educational system.