Does the Use of Electronic Gradebooks Affect Schooling Outcomes? A Study in Polish Primary Schools

The purpose of this study was to determine whether, in the context of Polish primary schools, the use of electronic gradebook raises teaching effectiveness and has altogether any observable educational effects when compared to older, paper forms of record keeping. Our analyses use data from a survey conducted in 2010-2015 on a nationwide representative sample of 4,500 students from 171 primary schools. Because the electronic gradebook was not yet widely used in Poland at that time, data from this period can be used to analyze the problem stated in the title. The key tools used in our research were standardized school achievement tests and scales examining a student’s emotional integration with the school, quality of peer relations and academic self-concept. Measurements were taken after the completion of grades 3 and 6. The results of intelligence tests and indicators of the economic and social status of the student’s family were considered as control variables. Statistical analyses were performed using hierarchical linear regression models. No significant correlation was revealed between the form of the school gradebook and teaching effectiveness in reading, writing or math. Only one of the educational effects included in the study was significantly related to the form of the school gradebook: the use of an electronic form correlated negatively with the level of students’ academic self-concept. These results show that the consequences of introducing this type of e-record into schools are more complex than previously considered.