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This paper provides new evidence on the effect of computerized individualized practice and instruction on language skills, more specifically on spelling. An individually randomized experiment among 7th grade students in the Netherlands is developed to study the effect of an adaptive digital homework tool on spelling performance. Using an instrumental variable approach to control for actual use of the digital tool, we show that there are small positive effects of practicing with an adaptive digital tool for spelling for 7th grade students. Effects are largest for low-performing students.

This article examines an educational experiment with a unique combination of 3 elements: homework, the use of information and communication technology and a large degree of freedom of choice (student autonomy). More particularly, we study the effectiveness of a web-based intelligent tutoring system (ITS) that a school offers to its students as optional homework, in a sample of 355 first-year secondary students, using an experimental design. The results show that whether students make this noncompulsory homework in the web-based ITS is dependent on their prior achievement and their teacher, and if they practice, they tend to choose easier modules. Students thus do not seem to optimize learning gains, but rather balance their perceived value of practicing and their "expectancy," as found previously for regular (compulsory, non-ITS) homework. Regarding the value of choice, findings suggest that students may be poor judges of their most beneficial exercises pattern. Differentiation in ITS does not guarantee learning, unless scaffolding is tightly linked to it. In line with previous research, this research shows that practice does matter, though at varying intensities. Yet it also clarifies that motivation to make an effort is required, which adds to the lessons learned from homework research; both the perceived value and expectancy are at play and can be enhanced, for example, by teachers.

This paper explores the effect of digital differentiation on student performance using a randomized experiment. The experiment is conducted in a second year biology class among 115 prevocational students in the Netherlands. Differentiation allowed students in the treatment group to work at three different levels. The results show that there is a significant effect of digital differentiation on the posttest score. This effect is robust to adding covariates such as students' ability, grade repetition, age, gender, class and average neighborhood income. There are no differential effects when dividing students in three groups, by ability. The results imply that differentiation in large classrooms is possible and beneficial for all students, once done digitally.

This paper describes a dataset with data from three individually randomized educational technology experiments on differentiation, formative testing and feedback during one school year for a group of 8th grade students in the Netherlands, using administrative data and the online motivation questionnaire of Boekaerts. The dataset consists of pre- and posttest scores for each experiment, as well as background information on the students, such as gender, age, ability, grade repetition and neighborhood characteristics. It also includes motivation of students. The dataset, or parts of it, could be interesting to use in future studies, focusing on effects of the use of educational technology, for comparison with similar and/or slightly different experiments, and for studies such as meta-analyses or replication studies, especially given the individual experimental setup.

Community schools are becoming increasingly popular. They aim to enhance children's educational performance by offering extended educational and social services. As community schools mainly focus on disadvantaged children, this study evaluates the effects of community schooling on the educational outcomes of these pupils. We focus on care pupils and pupils whose parents have a low educational attainment. We hypothesize that community schools are particularly beneficial to care pupils, namely, pupils with additional educational needs, and for pupils with parents with lower levels of educational attainment. Our analyses show that both pupil groups benefit in terms of reduced underachievement. The duration of community school attendance as such does not affect cognitive outcomes, but it proves beneficial to the educational achievement of both groups when the community school subsidy is taken into account as well. We show that different community school activities have partly contrary effects on care pupils and non-care pupils.

Abstract: This paper provides new evidence on the effect of computerized individualized practice and instruction on language skills, more specifically on spelling. An individually randomized experiment among 7th grade students in the Netherlands is developed to study the effect of an adaptive digital homework tool on spelling performance. Using an instrumental variable approach to control for actual use of the digital tool, we show that there are small positive effects of practicing with an adaptive digital tool for spelling for 7th grade students. Effects are largest for low‐performing students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community schools are becoming increasingly popular. They aim to enhance children’s educational performance by offering extended educational and social services. As community schools mainly focus on disadvantaged children, this study evaluates the effects of community schooling on the educational outcomes of these pupils. We focus on care pupils and pupils whose parents have a low educational attainment. We hypothesize that community schools are particularly beneficial to care pupils, namely, pupils with additional educational needs, and for pupils with parents with lower levels of educational attainment. Our analyses show that both pupil groups benefit in terms of reduced underachievement. The duration of community school attendance as such does not affect cognitive outcomes, but it proves beneficial to the educational achievement of both groups when the community school subsidy is taken into account as well. We show that different community school activities have partly contrary effects on care pupils and non-care pupils. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes a dataset with data from three individually randomized educational technology experiments on differentiation, formative testing and feedback during one school year for a group of 8th grade students in the Netherlands, using administrative data and the online motivation questionnaire of Boekaerts. The dataset consists of pre- and posttest scores for each experiment, as well as background information on the students, such as gender, age, ability, grade repetition and neighborhood characteristics. It also includes motivation of students. The dataset, or parts of it, could be interesting to use in future studies, focusing on effects of the use of educational technology, for comparison with similar and/or slightly different experiments, and for studies such as meta-analyses or replication studies, especially given the individual experimental setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]