The iPad as a Learning Tool: An Examination of Student Achievement on the ACT

Abstract

Technology became increasingly important to schools as NCLB legislationrequired students to achieve at higher levels. The purpose of this study was to investigatewhether there was a difference in students' ACT composite scores, and mathematics,reading, science, and English subtest scores on the ACT as affected by iPadimplementation, and if these scores were affected by student gender or ethnicity on theACT one and two years before the iPad implementation, and during, one, and two yearsafter iPad implementation. A quasi-experimental research design was used to measurethe association between quantitative variables. The time prior to, during, and after iPadimplementation, and gender and ethnicity were the independent variables, while studentachievement on the ACT composite, and mathematics, reading, science, and Englishsubtest scores were the dependent variables. The population included students in grades9-12 who took the ACT from the 2010-2012 to the 2012-2014 school years. The resultsrevealed that for students in grades 9-12 no statistically significant differences existed inthe means for the ACT composite scores, or the mathematics, reading, and Englishsubtest scores based on the years of iPad implementation. The results revealed that therewas a statistically significant difference in students' science subtest scores on the ACTbased on the interaction between years of implementation (two years before, one yearbefore, during, one year after, and two years after) and student ethnicity. Although,neither the Tukey HSD (very conservative) nor the Fisher LSD (very liberal) post hocindicated any means to be different, the lowest mean two years before iPadimplementation and highest mean during the first year of iPad implementation weresignificantly different. There was no statistically significant difference in students' composite and subtest scores on the ACT two years before, one year before, during, oneyear after, and two years after iPad implementation as affected by student gender orethnicity. There were no other statistically significant results from the hypotheses testing.