Community-wide broadband adoption and student academic achievement

This study examines the relationship between broadband adoption and county-level educational achievement in the US in which a novel measure of home broadband subscriptions to explore longitudinal community impacts of broadband adoption on aggregated standardized test scores in math and reading/language arts for students enrolled in 3rd-8th grades. A panel was created of US counties and measured the effect of broadband adoption on student educational achievement by estimating a fixed effect estimator. Key highlights from the research showed the following:

• Broadband adoption is related to higher test scores at the county level.
• The effect is greatest for Black, Latino, and low-income students.
• Results have implications for policies supporting broadband adoption.

Ultimately, Black and Latino (and lower-income students) earn higher educational achievement gains than their white (and higher-income) counterparts. Additionally, the findings highlight the potential role community broadband adoption can have in promoting student educational achievement and reducing disparities within the education system.