Some have pointed to divides in the availability of fixed home broadband Internet access as a contributor to rural students’ lower levels of educational attainment. Based on standardized exams (SAT Suite) and a survey of rural Michigan students in grades 8–11, we find that rural students with broadband home Internet access are more interested in school and leave homework incomplete less often. However, the relationship to classroom grades (GPA) is relatively trivial. Yet, we find that students who are not dependent on a cell phone for Internet access and those with higher digital skills, especially social media skills, rank considerably higher on the SAT. Rural students with broadband Internet access are able to participate in a more diverse array of online media activities, which supports building digital skills. Any negative relationship between time spent on social media, video games, other digital media and educational outcomes is outweighed by the benefit to digital skills. However, aspects of rural culture; including the emphasis on activities such as sports, as a path to postsecondary schooling and upward, social mobility; may be stunting the positive relationship between access, digital skills, and educational aspirations. Whereas extra-curricular sports have no direct relationship to SAT performance, students who spend more time on sports receive higher grades and have higher educational aspirations than those with more digital skills. We discuss the implications for rural students’ access to human capital and how the unequal relationship between digital skills and performance in the classroom and on the SAT may perpetuate inequalities.

一些人指出，固定家庭宽带互联网接入的可用性差异是导致农村学生受教育程度较低的一个原因。根据标准化考试 (SAT Suite) 和对密歇根州农村 8-11 年级学生的调查，我们发现拥有宽带家庭互联网接入的农村学生对学校更感兴趣，并且不经常完成作业。然而，与课堂成绩（GPA）的关系相对微不足道。然而，我们发现不依赖手机上网的学生和具有较高数字技能，尤其是社交媒体技能的学生，在 SAT 中的排名要高得多。拥有宽带互联网接入的农村学生能够参与更加多样化的在线媒体活动，这有助于培养数字技能。在社交媒体、视频游戏、其他数字媒体上花费的时间与教育成果之间的任何负面关系都被数字技能的好处所抵消。然而，乡村文化方面；包括强调体育等活动，作为通往中学后教育和向上社会流动的途径；可能会阻碍访问、数字技能和教育愿望之间的积极关系。虽然课外运动与 SAT 成绩没有直接关系，但与拥有更多数字技能的学生相比，在体育上花费更多时间的学生会获得更高的成绩和更高的教育抱负。我们讨论了农村学生获得人力资本的影响，以及数字技能与课堂和 SAT 成绩之间的不平等关系如何可能使不平等长期存在。