U.S. 8th Grade Scores Decline in Critical Computer and Information Literacy Skills

Key points:

U.S. eighth graders scored at the international average in computer and information literacy, but below the international average in computational thinking, according to results of an international study focused on how prepared students are for computer environments. of today's digital working and learning. Scores for U.S. eighth graders have fallen in both areas since 2018, the last time the study was conducted.

“While digital literacy is quickly becoming as fundamental to a well-rounded education as arithmetic and basic literacy, many eighth graders in the U.S. struggle with some key skills, such as determining the credibility of news and information they find online,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. “Basic digital literacy is a prerequisite for communicating, finding employment, and socializing. “It is now almost as critical to student success as something like the ‘3 Rs.’”

He International study on computer and information literacy (ICILS) measures eighth grade students' ability to use computers to research, create, participate, and communicate at home, school, in their future workplace, and in their communities. The results of the 2023 study were published today in the United States by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This is the second time US ICILS data has been collected.

“The study raises questions about the technological knowledge of students who have been called 'digital natives,'” said Commissioner Carr. “One might assume that this group of students, born when the iPhone was launched and raised in a world in which Since computers and smartphones are common, they would cope with an assessment like this with ease, but these findings show that is not the case for many students. “Students now use this technology for hours each day, but many students do not have the basic skills they need to be safe while using it.”

In addition to computer and information literacy, ICILS also measured students' skills in an optional domain: computational thinking. Twenty-four educational systems, including the United States, participated in the optional assessment of computational thinking, which measures the type of thinking used when programming a computer and involves conceptualizing problems (through algorithmic or systems thinking) and operationalizing solutions (creating, implementing, and evaluating of computer solutions to problems). The average American score in computational thinking was lower than the international average.

In terms of computational thinking, the United States had a higher percentage of students at Level 1 (27 percent) compared to the international study average (24 percent). Students at the lowest level demonstrated understanding of simple patterns and sequences, and were able to follow explicit instructions to modify code segments. Students at the highest level (5 percent of U.S. students, not significantly different from the international study average) demonstrated an understanding of a wide range of computational concepts and command types, and the ability to decompose complex problems into smaller components and manageable. They were able to iteratively test and refine block-based coding solutions to address real-world problems, resulting in solutions with moderate to high levels of accuracy and efficiency. The United States also had a higher percentage of students scoring below Level 1 in computational thinking (15 percent) compared to the international study average (10 percent).

ICILS also asked students about their experiences using information and communications technologies (ICT) and whether they were learning these skills in school or outside of school. Their responses reveal that, on average, a higher percentage of U.S. eighth graders learned from their teachers how to perform Internet-related research tasks, such as using the Internet to find information and evaluate the reliability of information, compared with students from other systems. When it comes to browsing the Internet safely, higher percentages of U.S. eighth graders learned how to manage the privacy settings of Internet accounts (78 percent compared to 59 percent across all participating school systems) and identify fraudulent messages (73 percent compared to 53 percent across all participating school systems). all participating educational systems) outside of school and not in school.

ICILS is sponsored by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) and conducted in the United States by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). This was the second time the United States participated in ICILS. Thirty-four countries participated in ICILS 2023: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium (Flemish), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan. , Korea, Kosovo, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United States and Uruguay.

The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia participated as a “reference” participant to enable reporting for that entity, as well as to contribute to the data reported for Germany as a whole. The participants in the benchmarking are the educational systems within the countries.

Other key findings of the report include:

Computer and information literacy.

• The US average score in 2023 was 482, which was not significantly different from the ICILS 2023 study average score of 476.
• The US average score in 2023 (482) was lower compared to the US average score in 2018 (519)
• Students from 16 educational systems demonstrated higher average CIL scores than students from the US. They were: the Republic of Korea, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Chinese Taipei, Belgium (Flemish), Portugal, Latvia, Finland, Austria , Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Slovak Republic, France and Spain
• Ten school systems had average CIL scores lower than the U.S. average. They were: Cyprus, Greece, Uruguay, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Kazakhstan, Oman, Kosovo and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
• Six educational systems had average CIL scores that did not differ significantly from those of the United States: Luxembourg, Italy, Croatia, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), Slovenia, and Malta.
• Only the Republic of Korea (6 percent) had a higher percentage of students performing at the highest level of CIL proficiency (Level 4) than the United States (3 percent).
• Approximately one-quarter (25 percent) of eighth grade students in the United States did not meet the lowest CIL proficiency level (Level 1), which was greater than the percentages of students who did not meet the highest proficiency level. low in 19 educational systems.
• The average CIL score of US female eighth graders (493) was higher than their male counterparts (468) in 2023.

computational thinking

• The US average score was 461, which was lower than the ICILS 2023 average score of 483.
• The US average score in 2023 (461) was lower compared to the US average score in 2018 (498)
• Average CT scores were higher for students in 14 educational systems, or more than half of the systems, compared to students in the US. Systems with average CT scores higher than those in the US .USA were: Chinese Taipei, Republic of Korea, Czech Republic and Belgium. (Flemish), Denmark, Finland, France, Slovak Republic, Latvia, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Italy and Germany
• Average CT scores were lower for students from four educational systems (Malta, Croatia, Serbia, and Uruguay) compared to U.S. students.
• Four educational systems had average CT scores that were not significantly different from the average score in the United States: Austria, Luxembourg, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), and Slovenia.

This press release originally appeared online.

eSchool Media staff covers educational technology in all its aspects, from legislation and litigation to best practices, lessons learned and new products. First published in March 1998 as a monthly print and digital newspaper, eSchool Media provides the news and information needed to help K-20 decision makers successfully use technology and innovation to transform schools and universities. and achieve their educational goals.

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