The United Kingdom has a higher ratio of computers to schoolchildren than almost any other country (Exhibit 1)—but that does not mean IT has made the impact that it might have done either on educational standards or on the way that schoolchildren learn. On the contrary, although there are variations between schools, it is true to say that much of the installed hardware is outdated, that many children leave school with only a rudimentary appreciation of IT, and that large numbers of teachers are neither fully comfortable with the technology nor aware of all its possibilities.

The current situation represents a huge untapped opportunity, not only because computer literacy is an essential skill in today’s working environment, but because IT has the potential to enhance and even transform elements of teaching. Policy makers therefore need to be clearer about the educational objectives for IT, then figure out how they can best be achieved. This requires a clear understanding of IT’s potential and the challenges and costs of incorporating that potential into the educational system.

Plenty of hardware, but ...

The number of computers in UK schools has risen more than fivefold in a decade, encouraged by the last government’s...