A shrinking "digital divide"? The provision of classroom computers across urban school systems

Objective. To determine the extent of the urban school "digital divide" - t he varying provision of computer technology to students of different races and classes-and whether it has changed in the 1990s. Methods. Ordinary leas t squares and logit regression analysis is conducted on the 1995 Council of Urban Boards of Education survey, encompassing 72 urban school districts. Results. Districts with a higher percentage of African American students pr ovided fewer computers per student, whereas community educational level, fa mily income, and Latino enrollment had no effect. On the other hand, distri cts with more African American students reported recent decreases in the st udent-to-computer ratio, and comparisons with recent research suggest that the magnitude of this digital divide has decreased. Conclusions. Urban scho ol districts appear to be addressing the digital divide, although inequalit ies in computer access remain.