Minorities Still Face Digital Divide

Nearly a decade after the World Wide Web became widely available, a significant gap persists between minority and white students in their use of that potentially powerful educational tool, according to a federal report.

Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey of October 2003, 93 percent of white students use computers, compared with 86 percent of black students and 86 percent of Hispanic students, the study reports. Among Asian-Americans, the figure was 91 percent.

And while 67 percent of white students were likely to use the Internet, just 47 percent of African-American students, 44 percent of Hispanic students, and 58 percent of Asian-American students were...