iAm laptop evaluation : final report

Abstract

The goals of the South Carolina iAm Laptop initiative were threefold: enhance educational opportunities, increase workforce competitiveness, and engage ninth grade students to take ownership and responsibility for their future. Laptops were to be distributed to all ninth grade students in the six pilot schools, and they were to keep them throughout high school. The intent of the legislation was that each new cohort of ninth graders would receive a laptop until the school was immersed within four years. The evaluation of the program was conducted from Fall 2007 through December 2009, utilizing a mixed methods approach that included quantitative and qualitative components.