In less than a decade, America's public schools have progressed from just over a third having access to the Internet to virtually all schools now being connected to the information super highway.

In addition, America's schools continue to make consistent progress in expanding Internet access in instructional rooms, according to Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-2001, released today by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

"We have reached an important technology goal by connecting our schools to the Internet," said John Bailey, director of the Office Educational Technology. "Now we must use these connections for a far more important goal of improving student achievement. For these connections to truly make a difference, teachers must be trained and students must have access to quality educational content."

In fall 2001, an estimated 99 percent of U.S. public schools had access to the Internet; in 1994, when the annual survey on Internet access was first conducted by NCES, 35 percent had access. Eighty-seven percent of instructional rooms in U.S. public schools had Internet access in 2001, up from three percent in 1994.

Other key findings from the report include:

• Since 1996, changes have occurred in the types of Internet connections used by public schools and the speed at which they are connected to the Internet. In 1996, dial-up Internet connections were used by 74 percent of public schools having Internet access. In 2001, 55 percent of public schools reported using T1/DS1 lines, a continuous and much faster type of Internet connection than dial-up connections. Five percent of schools used dial-up connections in 2001.
• In 2001, 85 percent of public schools used broadband connections to access the Internet. This is an increase from 2000 when 80 percent of the schools were using this type of connection. The use of broadband connections increased between 2000 and 2001 from 81 percent to 93 percent in schools with the highest minority enrollment (50 percent or more). Similarly, the percent of schools with the highest poverty concentration (75 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch) using broadband connections to access the Internet increased from 75 percent to 90 percent.
• In 2001, the ratio of students to instructional computers with Internet access in public schools was 5.4 to 1, an improvement from the 12.1 to 1 ratio in 1998, when it was first measured. This level of access corresponds to the 4- to 5-students-per-computer ratio that many experts consider reasonable for effective use of computers in schools. In 2001, the ratio of students to instructional computers with Internet access was higher in schools with the highest poverty concentration (6.8 to 1 compared with 4.9 or 5.6 to 1 in other schools). Despite this gap, the ratio improved from 9.1 students in 2000 to 6.8 students per computer in 2001 in schools with the highest poverty concentration.
• In 2001, 51 percent of public schools with access to the Internet reported that they made computers with access to the Internet available to students outside of regular school hours. Among these schools, 95 percent made them available after school, 74 percent before school, and 6 percent on weekends.
• Depending on the type of disability, 55 to 64 percent of schools that had students with disabilities provided assistive or adaptive hardware, and 39 to 56 percent had assistive or adaptive software.
• Seventy-five percent of public schools had a Web site in 2001. Among schools with a Web site, about three-fourths indicated that their Web site contained the schedule of school events/school calendar (76 percent) and the staff directory (73 percent). Between 50 percent and 70 percent reported that their Web site carried information on programs and classes (70 percent), information for parents (64 percent), links to Web sites for educational tools for students (61 percent), information on sports and/or clubs (58 percent), school policies/rules (52 percent), and links to, or information on, middle/high schools (50 percent).
• In 2001, almost all public schools with Internet access (96 percent) used various technologies or procedures to control student access to inappropriate material on the Internet. Among schools using technologies or procedures to prevent student access to inappropriate material on the Internet, 91 percent reported that teachers or other staff members monitored student Internet access. Eighty-seven percent used blocking or filtering software, 80 percent had a written contract that parents have to sign, 75 percent had a contract that students have to sign, 46 percent used monitoring software, 44 percent had honor codes, and 26 percent used their intranet.

The annual survey on Internet access is part of an overall NCES effort to track the availability and use of technology in schools. The full text of the report and supporting data tables are available online at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002018.

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