• Background
• Computer and Internet Availability in Private Schools
• Use of and School Support for Advanced Telecommunications in Private Schools
• E-rate and Other External Support for Advanced Telecommunications in Private Schools
• Selected Comparisons With Public Schools
• References

Throughout the past decade, there have been a number of federal, state, and private initiatives to expand computer and Internet use in schools. These initiatives have been rooted in the national technology goals to make computers accessible to every student, connect every classroom to the Internet, integrate educational software into the curriculum, and train teachers to integrate technology into the classroom (U.S. Department of Education 1998). In 1994, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) launched a series of annual surveys to track changes in the availability of computers and Internet access in public schools.

In fall 1995, NCES also conducted a survey of advanced telecommunications in private schools to provide baseline data on computer and Internet availability, and allow for comparisons with public schools (Heaviside and Farris 1997). To revisit the issue of computer and Internet availability in private schools and measure changes since 1995, NCES, through its Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), administered a second nationally representative survey of advanced telecommunications in private schools during the 1998-99 school year.

Specifically, the 1998-99 survey focused on (1) computer and Internet availability, including the extent to which those resources were available for instruction; (2) selected issues in the use of computers and the Internet, including instructional use of those resources, provision of teacher training, technical support for advanced telecommunications use, and barriers to the acquisition and use of advanced telecommunications; and (3) the Education-rate discount (E-rate) program and other external support for advanced telecommunications in schools.

Making available sufficient and adequate hardware is a critical first step toward ensuring student access to computers. In the 1998-99 school year, private schools reported six students per computer (including computers used for administrative purposes), a lower level of availability than the four to five students per computer recommended by some technology experts (President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology 1997). Considering availability for instructional purposes, there were 8 students per instructional computer in private schools. Among private schools with Internet access, there were 15 students per Internet-connected instructional computer.

Private schools have made considerable strides in computer and Internet availability since 1995. Examples include the following:

• The number of students per computer (including computers used for administrative purposes) fell from nine in fall 1995 to six in the 1998-99 school year.
• The proportion of private schools connected to the Internet increased from 25 percent in 1995 to 67 percent in 1998-99. An additional 13 percent of private schools indicated they had plans for Internet connection by the end of 2000; if these plans are realized, then about 80 percent of all private schools are currently connected or will have Internet connections by the end of 2000. However, 19 percent of private schools reported not being connected to the Internet and having no plans to be connected.

School-level access to the Internet does not reflect the extent to which that resource might be available for instruction. Therefore, private schools also reported on the number of instructional rooms with Internet connections, types of connection, and the extent to which the World Wide Web (WWW) and electronic mail (e-mail) were available to various members of the school community. Findings from the 1998-99 survey indicate the following:

• Twenty-five percent of all instructional rooms in private schools were connected to the Internet in the 1998-99 school year, compared with 5 percent in fall 1995.
• Although dial-up connections were the most common means of connecting to the Internet in 1998-99 (65 percent of private schools with Internet access reported using such connections), private schools have increased the availability of higher speed connections using dedicated lines.
• About two-thirds of private schools reported having e-mail or WWW availability. However, e-mail was more likely to be available to administrators than teachers and least likely to be available to students.

Comparisons on the availability and use of computers and the Internet were focused mainly on differences by religious affiliation and instructional level of the school. The results of the 1998-99 survey indicate the following:

• Nonsectarian schools had fewer students (six) per instructional computer than Catholic (eight) or other religious schools (nine). While Catholic schools were more likely than nonsectarian or other religious schools to be connected to the Internet (figure A) and to report having e-mail and WWW availability, nonsectarian schools reported a higher proportion of instructional rooms with Internet access.
• Secondary schools were more likely than elementary or combined schools to be connected to the Internet and to report the availability of high-speed connections using dedicated lines. They were also more likely to report that e-mail and the WWW were available to students. Among schools with Internet access, moreover, the ratio of students per instructional computer with Internet access was lower at secondary and combined schools than at elementary schools (figure B).

Figure B.-Among private schools with Internet access, ratio of students to instructional computers with Internet access, by selected school characteristics: School year 1998-99

Issues in advanced telecommunications that have become increasingly important within recent years relate to whether teachers and students are making use of available advanced telecommunications, and the extent to which schools have support mechanisms in place to encourage effective use of those resources.

The results of the 1998-99 survey indicate the following:

• Forty-five percent of all private school teachers in the 1998-99 school year regularly used computers and/or advanced telecommunications for teaching.
• Among private schools with Internet access, virtually all reported some use of e-mail and the WWW by students, teachers, and administrative staff. However, relatively fewer schools reported that these Internet capabilities were used to a large extent; for example, 31 percent reported that students used the WWW to a large extent and 24 percent indicated that teachers used this resource to a large extent.

To explore the issue of school support for computer and Internet use, the survey asked whether schools (1) offered or participated in various types of advanced telecommunications training for teachers, (2) used various approaches to encourage teacher participation in technology training, and (3) provided technical support for advanced telecommunications use. The

1998-99 survey data indicate the following:

• Sixty-four percent of private schools offered or participated in some type of advanced telecommunications training for teachers, with the most common type of training being in the use of computers. About half of the schools offered or participated in training on the integration of technology into the curriculum, and 43 percent provided training on the use of the Internet.
• Of the schools that offered or participated in some type of technology training, 55 percent left it up to teachers to initiate the training, while fewer schools either mandated the training (16 percent) or actively encouraged teacher participation through incentives (22 percent).
• Most private schools (80 percent) indicated that one or more individuals were primarily responsible for supporting advanced telecommunications in the school. Of these schools, 41 percent indicated that the technology coordinator or other technical staff helped teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum to a large or moderate extent, and 42 percent reported that network technical support was provided to a large or moderate extent.

Expanding the use of advanced telecommunications comes with high costs, and private and public schools often have to rely on a range of support (including federal and private sources) to address their technology needs. Therefore, schools were asked about the support for advanced telecommunications from various sources during the 1998-99 school year. Results include the following:

• Private schools indicated that they received support from several sources for advanced telecommunications in the school, including various federal programs (ranging from 2 to 15 percent of private schools) and business or industry (22 percent of private schools).
• The most frequently cited source of support was parents or other community members (57 percent of private schools), although the survey did not collect data on the extent of such support. Relatively few private schools (13 percent) reported support for advanced telecommunications from the E-rate program.

• About one-fourth (24 percent) of all private schools applied for the 1998 E-rate program. Catholic schools were more likely than other religious and nonsectarian schools to apply for the 1998 program; elementary and secondary schools were more likely to apply than combined schools; and schools with Internet access were more likely to apply than those without access.
• When asked if they intended to apply or had already applied for the 1999-2000 E-rate program, 39 percent of all private schools indicated that they did, while 57 percent reported that they would not apply.

Some of the gains made by private schools since 1995 have been comparable to those made by public schools. For example, the percentage point increase in private schools with Internet access between fall 1995 and the 1998-99 school year (42 percentage points) is comparable to increases for public schools (39 percentage points) during this period. Nevertheless, in the 1998-99 school year, private schools continued to be outpaced by public schools on some important indicators of the availability of advanced telecommunications-ratio of students to instructional computer, the proportion of Internet-connected schools, the proportion of instructional rooms with Internet access, and types of Internet connection. Examples include the following:

• Compared with public schools, private schools reported more students per instructional computer (8 vs. 6) and, among schools with Internet access, more students per instructional computer with Internet access (15 vs. 12 students) (figure C).
• Private schools (67 percent) were considerably less likely than public schools (89 percent) to be connected to the Internet, and they also reported proportionately fewer instructional rooms with Internet access (25 vs. 51 percent).
• Private schools were less likely than public schools to report higher speed Internet connections; for example, among schools with Internet access, 21 percent of private schools compared with 65 percent of public schools were connected to the Internet using dedicated lines (figure D).

Figure D.-Among schools with Internet access, percent by type of Internet connection and school sector: Fall 1998 and school year 1998-99