Digital monitoring tools are instruments that support teachers in obtaining, organizing, and analyzing student data from test assessments. Through these tools teachers are also provided with feedback on the data they receive.
A recent review studied the effects of digital monitoring tools on student academic achievement. Studies included had to compare an experimental group in which teachers used digital monitoring tools with a control group. Each group had to include at least 20 teachers and the intervention had to last a minimum of 12 weeks. Only independent measures, such as standardized tests, were included in the meta-analysis.
A total of 14 studies were included in the review. Most of the studies evaluated the effects of the intervention on mathematics or reading. Studies were carried out more frequently in primary school than secondary school. Overall the results showed positive effects of digital monitoring tools on student academic achievement (ES =+ 0.12). The effects were larger in primary school (ES = +0.14) than secondary school (ES = +0.04), as well as in reading (ES = +0.17) and math (ES = +0.10) compared to language (ES = +0.02).
