Table 1.

Mean percent of public school students with access to Internet-enabled technology and broadband, by rurality. Washington State, 2020.

	Urban	Rural	All districts	Sig.*
	Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)
Internet-enabled technology at home
Desktop or laptop computer	76.0 (65.3–86.7)	66.0 (58.0–73.9)	73.9 (65.2–82.6)	0.14
Tablet or smartphone	59.2 (45.8–72.6)	58.3 (49.7–66.8)	59.0 (48.3–69.7)	0.91
Device that is “adequate for online learning”	90.1 (86.9–93.3)	80.0 (75.1–84.9)	88.0 (84.9–91.1)	<0.01
Reliable broadband Internet adequate to support synchronous (real-time) video	84.2 (79.6–88.8)	67.5 (61.4–73.5)	80.7 (76.4–85.0)	<0.01

Source: Author

Note: Values indicate the estimated mean (weighted) percent of students reported by school district. Sample weights based on district average daily attendance have been applied. Rurality based on school district classification of rurality NCES scheme. Item response rates varied as follows: Access to desktop/laptop computer, n=147 rural and n=84 urban districts; access to a tablet or smartphone, n=135 rural and n=72 urban districts; access to a device adequate for online learning, n=137 rural and n=65 urban; broadband, n=136 rural and n=65 urban.

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; NCES, National Center for Educational Statistics; SD, standard deviation

^*Wald test comparing responses from urban and rural districts.