Impact of internet access in Rwandan schools

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of internet access on educational attainment. The initial theory is that in developing countries facing a variety of resource constraints, internet access may boost student performance, as measured by test scores. Previous research on the topic is inconclusive, some studies indicate internet access increases motivation and performance, but others suggest that may not be the case. Using data from the Rwanda National Examination Council and the Rwandan Ministry of Education, I conduct a quantitative evaluation of the internet as a tool in the clasroom. In particular, I compare perfomance on national standardized tests of schools before and after they wired with internet access with those of schools that either were yet to receive internet access or were eventually wired at a later date. The results indicate that internet access does not increase student performance; in fact internet access may be detrimental to student performance, at least in its current implementation.