At a time when educators are growing increasingly worried about the influence of technology in classrooms, the Washington Post published an op-ed that takes a contrarian stance. Authored by journalism professor Stephen Kurczy, the piece highlights Green Bank, a small town in rural West Virginia, known for hosting the world's largest steerable radio telescope. Due to the sensitivity of this apparatus, the entire region is designated as a congressionally recognized “radio quiet zone,” where cell service and WiFi are prohibited.
While a disconnected lifestyle might seem appealing, the op-ed argues that this situation poses challenges for one specific group: the students attending the combined elementary and middle school in Green Bank.
“Without WiFi, the 200 students are unable to utilize Chromebooks or digital textbooks, or conduct online research,” Kurczy writes. “Teachers are also unable to access individualized education programs online or utilize Google Docs for staff meetings.”
Some educators are expressing their dissatisfaction. “Being able to tailor learning with an iPad or a laptop – that’s essentially unfeasible,” said one teacher quoted in the article. “Without full functionality of our online curriculum, it’s quite harmful to our teaching,” remarked another.
These worries are not merely theoretical. As Kurczy observes: “Green Bank consistently posts the lowest test scores in the county.” He cites the school’s principal, who attributes this to the students’ “lack of access to engaging technology.”
The message of this op-ed is straightforward. In an era where there’s a rush to disparage phones in educational settings, we should be cautious not to extend this criticism to other educational technology innovations, as their absence can hinder student progress.
It’s a neat argument. But is it accurate? I decided to investigate further…
Initially, the assertion that Green Bank has the lowest test scores in the county can be verified easily. However, there is a caveat: Pocahontas County, which includes Green Bank, is relatively small. It has only one additional middle school and two other elementary schools, so even slight differences in student populations can lead to significant variations in performance outcomes.
The other middle school in the county does indeed report higher test scores, but it serves only about 100 students, suggesting that a small group of more privileged children could account for the entire difference. (It’s worth noting that this outperforming school is situated near a hospital and across from a country club.)
What we genuinely require is time-series data. The surge of iPads and Chromebooks in classrooms began in the 2010s, so if the absence of WiFi is what’s hampering Green Bank, we ought to observe a distinct decline in their performance starting from that decade.
While I couldn't locate time-series data for individual schools, I did find it for counties within West Virginia. Given the small scale of Pocahontas County and that nearly half of its elementary and middle school-aged students attend school in Green Bank, if the WiFi deficiency is genuinely affecting this student population, it should be observable in the county-wide performance data for grades 3 to 8.
What do these data reveal? First, let's examine standardized math test scores in Pocahontas County over time.
These scores had been rising consistently until around 2017, when they began to decrease. Starting in 2022, we see the onset of a post-pandemic rebound.
The timing aligns somewhat with the WiFi hypothesis: if iPads and Chromebooks gained popularity last decade, we might anticipate a negative impact on Green Bank's performance around this period.
However, to conduct a proper controlled analysis, we need to juxtapose these changes with similar counties in West Virginia that had full access to WiFi. Luckily, we have these results.
The following chart displays both the extent of the performance decline from 2019 to 2022 and the degree of the subsequent recovery from 2022 to 2024. It compares Pocahontas County to the overall state, as well as to five other counties that share similar population sizes, demographics, and socio-economic conditions.
What do the results show?
Compared to other counties in the state, Pocahontas County schools exhibited a smaller drop in performance and a larger recovery. In other words, the county where nearly half of the assessed students lacked WiFi access performed better than other counties with comparable student populations that had full access to classroom technology.
A more plausible narrative suggested by this data is that schools in rural West Virginia are facing challenges, and something seems to have exacerbated this from around 2015 to 2017 (most likely deteriorating economic conditions). However, the resolution to these issues may not be as simplistic as merely supplying more internet-connected Chromebooks to students.
That said, the fact that this school is relying on outdated technology is an issue, albeit for different reasons. As Kurczy's reporting highlights – having written an entire book on this town – the teachers in Green Bank are expressing frustration. They feel neglected by the county and are missing out on
In an era where teachers are more worried than ever about the effects of technology in the classroom, the Washington Post released an op-ed that takes a contrary stance. The ... Read more