This is my first blog of the New Year, and first post for some time. I'd like to say that my departure from blogging has been due to a trip to warm Phoenix to see my Hawkeyes play in the Insight Bowl, but unfortunately that isn't the case. I've instead been working on my dissertation, which will attempt to analyze the impact of one-to-one schools across the state of Iowa. Some of my initial findings have been very interesting, but I share them with a disclaimer. These are very preliminary findings, and I may be oversimplifying them a bit. I am still working to clean-up the data, but I thought these very crude results may be of interest to some of you. If you'd like to find out more, feel free to send me an email so we can chat (nck0208@gmail.com).
The initial part of my study attempted to analyze the characteristics of one-to-one schools. The goal was to identify characteristics of one-to-one schools that were very different (statistically significant) from non-one-to-one schools. Because I didn't want the characteristics to be impacted as a result of a school going one-to-one, I used data from a year that schools were not one-to-one (2007). Here are some of those characteristics that were very different between one-to-one and non-one-to-one schools.
It is important to stress a couple of points with these data.
- I didn't report items above simply if one group had a higher median. They were only reported if there was a statistically significant difference. I actually compared schools on nearly 100 different characteristics, most of which didn't show differences between the two groups.
- These results are NOT results of 1:1! These data were collected prior to one to-one implementation in an effort to describe the "type" of schools that were the first in Iowa to transition to one-to-one (41 schools).
- I have oversimplified these results a bit, and they aren't yet finalized!
- School and district enrollment-One-to-one schools were smaller.
- Pupils per computer-Even prior to going one-to-one, one-to-one schools had more computers.
- 11th grade proficiency scores-One-to-one schools outscored non-one-to-one schools.
- Student to teacher ratio-They were higher at one-to-one schools.
- Teacher salaries-Salaries were lower at one-to-one schools.
- Revenue from local sources-One-to-one schools received a greater percentage of their revenue from local sources. (This may be a bit confusing to those of you not familiar with Iowa's funding formula.)
- Percent of community members with a college degree-The percent in one-to-one communities was lower.
- Percent of community members in the labor force-The percent in one-to-one communities is less than their counterparts.
- Median family income-Family income was lower in one-to-one communities. (Housing values were also less.)
- Age of principal-One-to-one principals were younger.
- Superintendent experience in the district-One-to-one superintendents had less district experience, BUT no statistically significant difference in overall experience.
- Diversity-One-to-one schools were less racially diverse.
Even with those disclaimers above, I have found these results EXTREMELY interesting. There are some I certainly would have expected, and others that were more surprising.
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This is a topic of great interest to most people I know in the tech ed field. Thanks for sharing your information.
Nick, I think this is the type of data that makes it real. I’m sure it seems crude or underdeveloped to you, but it gives some characteristics of who is moving into the 1 to 1 arena. Like you, some of the above information is not what I would have expected, but it is easy to understand. This post is a clear answer to students who are taking statistics (or myself when I was doing so) that utter the question, “when is this ever going to matter?” It’s all about relevancy.
Marshall-Thanks for the feedback. I certainly think these data could generate some interesting conversations, as well as future research, about the why of these data.
Nick
Thanks for the feedback. I was certainly a bit hesitant about posting this information.
Nick
Just Curious…Which ones do you find “EXTREMELY” interesting. Because I think you have succeeded in the earlier comment of “I didn’t want the characteristics to be impacted as a result of a school going one-to-one.”
I’d be interested to know if the schools were (what grade spans), block (90) minute or (60) minute schedule schools…I have been thinking about this a lot. I am a principal of a non-1:1 school feeding a (90) block 1:1 school…middle to high.
Good luck with the work…Just put you on Diigo to follow.
Nick,
A great to see the work is producing the results. With the big upswing in 1 to 1 districts in Iowa this will help with further studies. I did wonder of the 1 to 1 school have any put forth money into their facilities? Were any planning new construction projects? Hope things are going well in Kentucky and I appreciate all the info you put out there, because it helps.
I actually have to say that all of this data was interesting to me. Some of the data supported beliefs that I had, and other data surprised me. Going into the study, I was unsure what the data would say about school leaders if anything at all. The findings about age and experience are really interesting. It would be interesting to assess how those findings align with the literature around change. The community and school characteristics aligned with some of my perceptions, but I’m pleased to put real data with my “gut feeling” about what 1:1 schools look like in Iowa.
Nick
Chris,
Thanks for the comment. I hope this is just the tip of the iceberg for my research around 1:1. Although this information is interesting, the more important questions center around the impact of 1:1. Hopefully, I will be able to address that issue in the near future. As far as building projects, I haven’t addressed that with my data. I’m not sure that I have a variable that I could use to run that comparison.
Nick
Our school is not in Iowa but Wisconsin and seems to fit closely with the data you have blogged. I am interested in the definition of 1:1 used in your research. Our high school of 300 students is completely 1:1, and we are in our second year of implementation. I notice that many schools are using the term 1:1 for partial adoptions, i.e. all freshmen. I wonder how this variable will affect research results.
Great Question!-This is surely to get more confusing as more and more mobile devices are used in schools as well as the BYOD model. The schools that I used provide laptops for all of their HS students. Students are also allowed to take their devices home.
Nick
Hello Nick
Wow! Huge time and energy investment on your part, thanks. Your observations reveal characteristics of community, parents, etc…however, impact is yet to be determined, right? Are you aware of any completed or current research on 1:1 impact as to learning, progress, development, and achievement of students?
Also, your research raises so, so many questions!
I live in an area that is considering going 1:1 (grades K-12). The 40 schools you researched, how many were 1:1 K-12 and how many are only Jr-Sr 1:1? If some schools were 1:1 K-12, were laptops giving to all K-6 or K-5 OR was a different devise given?
Last, do you have the information about:
»what % of the cost to become a 1:1 school was funded by grant, school budget, or otherwise:
»the number of staff (tech or other) added due to the direct need to support 1:1. If you know, then, what was their level of education/training in tech?
Again, thank you.
I left a comment today. After reading it, is there a way to speak with you via phone. If so, just offer a couple of times.
Again thanks.
Roger,
Lots of great questions! I’ll try to answer some, but also please email me (nck0208@gmail.com) so we can chat on the phone.
I am actually currently working on the part of my dissertation that will hopefully get at some of the impacts of 1:1. You may want to check-out this CASTLE research brief that summarizes many of the current studies on 1:1 schools. To my knowledge, there is not a K-12 1:1 district in Iowa, but many schools do have 1:1 at their middle schools. United may be the district that has 1:1 at the youngest grades.
Your question about funding is very interesting. Nearly all of the 1:1 schools in Iowa funded the initiative within their regular school budget. Exactly where that money comes from varies by district. There are also a small group of schools that have received some funding through grants, but those schools are definitely in the minority. I’m not sure about the number of staff added, but that has been handled differently at different districts.
We need to chat on the phone very soon!
Nick