| Summary: | In this paper we investigate how differences in the frequency and type of computer usage, both at home and at school, of 15-year-old Italian students might affect their school performance. Using the PISA 2006 dataset and controlling for a wide range of individual and school characteristics, our results suggest that students who frequently use a computer at home tend to obtain higher test scores than those who never use one. More importantly, we find a significant positive correlation between student achievement and the use of a computer at home as an educational/learning device. Focusing on the frequency of computer usage at school, it emerges that student achievement improves with the intensity of computer use but that the effect becomes smaller the more often they use the computer and even negative when students use the computer almost every day at school.
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