Regular use of computers can have both positive and negative effects on student performance on standardized tests, according to a new study.

Researchers at Boston College and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell studied almost 1,000 fourth-grade students and found that the more often they used computers to write papers, the higher they scored on the tests.

Students do not use computers when taking the tests.

However, some types of computer use seemed to bring scores down, the researchers said.

Playing games, exploring online or chatting with friends was connected with lower scores on writing portions of the test. The same effect was seen for PowerPoint presentations.

The study collected detailed measures of a variety of student uses of computers in and out of school, controlled for differences in home learning environments, separated effects of teachers' instructional practices and controlled for differences in prior achievement by using third-grade test scores.

The researchers believe this study provides evidence that students' computer use does have an impact on student achievement as measured by standardized tests like MCAS. More importantly, they say, the study demonstrates that different uses of computers have different effects on student learning.

They found that using computers for the whole writing process -- research, editing and drafts -- can raise test scores, but just typing in a final draft doesn't help.

This study also indicates that using computers for recreational purposes had a negative effect on test performance, particularly for reading scores. The authors speculate that this occurs because students who spend more time using computers for recreational purposes at home may spend less time reading at home.

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