This fall, nine states will be presenting their findings after three years of federally funded research into technology's impact on teaching and learning--and an early look at these findings shows some promising results.

In West Virginia, for example, a program to provide school-based professional development in the use of classroom technologies has led to more widespread use of technology by teachers and students--and that increase, in turn, has been linked with achievement gains in reading and math.

In Texas, a program that gave laptop computers to students and teachers in some middle schools has been shown to improve school communications, reduce discipline referrals, and level the playing field for students from low-income families. At least one of the participating schools has gone from being a "low-performing campus" to meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and parents and staff attribute these gains to the laptop project.

In Iowa, a statewide professional development program that uses peer networking and video conferencing to help change teaching practices has resulted in measurable gains in student achievement. Eighth-grade students reportedly have improved their math scores by an average of 14 points, fourth-graders have improved their reading scores by an average of 13 points, and fourth graders have improved their math scores by 16 points on average.

And in Arkansas, a program in which students use technology to solve real-world problems is having a significant impact. Students involved in the project are more likely to graduate from high school and more likely to go on to college than are their peers. Their achievement scores also tend to be higher than the scores of their peers from more traditional classrooms, officials say.

West Virginia, Texas, Iowa, and Arkansas are among the nine states that have received a total of $15 million in "Evaluating State Educational Technology Projects" grants from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) over the last three years. The other states are Maine, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

The grants funded states' efforts to provide scientifically based research into the impact of large-scale, technology-based projects on student achievement in elementary and secondary schools. Participating states contracted with local universities or other private evaluators to measure the impact of technology on teaching and learning, and they are expected to submit their final reports from these studies to ED officials this fall.

Mary Ann Wolf, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), says an early look at some of these reports offers encouraging results. Wolf's organization is working with eight of the nine states to disseminate their research findings through a SETDA-run web site.

The grants "have only exceeded expectations in terms of their ... potential for improving education," she said. "States and their research partners addressed important questions [regarding] the [impact] of technology on areas such as student achievement, teacher quality, and instruction, and [they] carefully addressed the context in which technology makes an important difference."