The nation's schools are spending billions on computers, Internet lines and CD-ROM readers, but the impact of the new technology on students remains unclear, according to a study released Monday.
''Teachers, administrators and policymakers are making decisions based primarily on anecdotal evidence and intuition,'' according to ''Technology Counts,'' a state-by-state analysis of school computer technology published by Education Week.
While the study gives generally high grades to efforts in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, it argues that schools around the nation need more information about what technology will have an impact in classrooms.
''The question should not be does technology work, it's how does technology work best in our schools,'' said Cheryl L. Lemke, executive director of the Milken Exchange on Education Technology. The Milken Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on education, medical research and health care, underwrote the research.
In a telephone conference with reporters, education policymakers said some of the report's findings were troubling. For example, 57 percent of eighth-graders report they ''never - hardly ever'' use a computer when doing mathematics, according to 1996 data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Fifty-two percent of teachers reported they do not use computers in mathematics instruction, the same study found.
The problem in many states is the priority is on buying equipment, not training veteran teachers in its use. On average, 15 percent of teachers nationwide have nine or more hours of technology training, according to the study.
''What's visible is buying equipment,'' said Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. ''It's much less sexy to buy the training or put wiring in the walls.''
Some of the most laudatory comments in the study focused on Kentucky, which was called ''a national leader in educational technology,'' thanks largely to the Kentucky Education Reform Act. That 1990 law remade the school system and demanded equal opportunities for all students. About $276.5 million has been spent on technology in Kentucky since 1992.
''We haven't really had to defend the technology updates, because parents understand the world is changing,'' said David Couch, director of the office of educational technologies at the Kentucky Department of Education.
The Internet has expanded the scope of reference material available beyond the school library, while e-mail has enabled students to share ideas with people around the world, he said.
In Ohio, SchoolNet and SchoolNet Plus are spotlighted in the study. The former is an effort to wire every public school building for advanced technology, while SchoolNet Plus is a $430 million program to buy computers and training.
Helping teachers become computer literate is a priority, said Jenny Moormeier, who heads the professional development effort for the Ohio Department of Education. This year, $16 million will be spent on teaching instructors how to best use the new technology. Last summer, more than 30,000 teachers - about a third of the state's public school instructors - took part in some technology training.
''The bottom line is student achievement, not just getting all the toys,'' she said.
Training can range from high-tech lessons on the Internet or via interactive CD-ROM, to the more traditional in-person approach. Teachers are being encouraged to share experiences and lesson plans that incorporate computers, guides now renamed lesson labs.
''We have three goals,'' Ms. Moormeier said. ''Deploy the information, professional development and student achievement. And the bottom line is student achievement.''
Cincinnati Public Schools also merits a mention in the report for its work building a database to track students as they enroll or leave schools, a headache in large districts dealing with thousands of children dropping out, moving and joining schools annually.
In contrast to statewide initiatives in Ohio and Kentucky, in Indiana, the addition of technology has been a mainly local issue dependent upon the generosity of local taxpayers. The study notes the richest districts also tend to be those investing in high-tech equipment.
A priority in Indiana is to gather information about what technology is in the state's schools and develop a state technology plan, the study found.
