Eighth-grade students
The U.S. findings describe eighth graders in 2018 and 2023. They do not measure elementary-age children, Discovery Desk users or every child’s experience.
The facts ICILS 2023
Computer literacy
needs practice.
Computer literacy means using computers to find, understand and create information. Growing up with technology does not automatically mean knowing how to use it well.
Explore the results01 / The U.S. trend
2018 → 2023
Fewer students reached the computer literacy benchmark.
66%2018
49%2023
The share of U.S. eighth graders reaching a basic benchmark for computer literacy fell from about two-thirds to about half.*
U.S. estimates carry a participation-rate caution in both years.
for computer literacy*2023
Reaching the benchmarkBelow the benchmark
Each dot represents about 1% of U.S. eighth graders. Only the two study years are shown. View the data.
2023: 49% reached the benchmark.
* The benchmark is Level 2 on ICILS’s computer and information literacy scale. At this level, students demonstrate basic skills in finding and organizing information and creating simple digital materials. They may still need support. Students below it may still perform routine computer tasks with explicit instructions. Percentages are rounded from NCES estimates. Read the definition.
02 / The international picture
Same systems. Two study years.
The U.S. decline
was part of a wider picture.
See how average scores changed in countries and education systems that took part in both studies. The U.S. is highlighted, and each row keeps the same place so you can follow its change.
This is a selected comparison group, not a global ranking. A score difference alone does not establish a meaningful difference in performance.
n.s. = no statistically significant change. † = participation or coverage notes available below.
The paired comparison contains the same 12 education systems with NCES trend data in both years: 11 countries and the German benchmarking region North Rhine-Westphalia. It is not a global ranking. International averages use changing sets of participating systems and are not plotted as a trend. Read the comparison notes.
Why isn’t China in this comparison?
This chart uses all 12 education systems in NCES’s 2018-to-2023 comparison. Mainland China and Hong Kong did not participate in either ICILS cycle. Chinese Taipei participated in 2023 but not 2018, so it has no two-year line here.
These are separate education systems in the study. One is not a substitute for another. A separate 2023-only comparison could include Chinese Taipei, but it would answer a different question.
Check the IEA’s 2018 participant list, 2023 participant list and 2023 User Guide, Table 2.1.
03 / About the study
What did ICILS
actually measure?
The International Computer and Information Literacy Study looks at how students use computers to investigate, create and communicate information.
These charts cover computer and information literacy. ICILS also assesses computational thinking, a separate area that is not shown here.
Practical tasks with information
The study goes beyond how often students use devices. It assesses working with digital information, producing content and communicating with others.
Evidence of a need
The results show a skills gap. They do not identify a single cause or show that Discovery Desk improves assessment scores.
04 / Sources & data
Open the numbers. Read the context.
The evidence, in the open.
Primary sources
- NCES: ICILS 2023 U.S. resultsFigures 3 and 5
- NCES: ICILS 2018 U.S. resultsFigure 3
- Download official NCES 2023 tables (Excel)Tables 3_CIL and 5_CIL
- Download official NCES 2018 proficiency table (Excel)Table 3
- NCES: methodology and technical notes
- NCES: study and participation FAQQuestion 9
- IEA: Digital natives, reality or myth?Pages 1 to 3
Charts by Discovery Desk from NCES-reported ICILS results. Values are rounded for display; changes are calculated from the unrounded estimates.
Download chart data (JSON)View the complete comparison table
| Country or system | 2018 | 2023 | Change | Significant change? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 553 | 518 | −35 | Yes |
| Finland | 531 | 507 | −24 | Yes |
| France | 499 | 498 | −1 | No |
| Germany | 518 | 502 | −16 | Yes |
| Italy | 461 | 491 | +30 | Yes |
| Kazakhstan | 395 | 407 | +12 | No |
| Korea, Republic of | 542 | 540 | −2 | No |
| Luxembourg | 482 | 494 | +12 | Yes |
| North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) | 515 | 485 | −30 | Yes |
| Portugal | 516 | 510 | −7 | No |
| United States | 519 | 482 | −37 | Yes |
| Uruguay | 450 | 447 | −3 | No |
“Yes” means NCES reports a statistically significant change at p < .05. “No” means no measurable change at that threshold, not proof that performance was identical.
U.S. share reaching the computer literacy benchmark
2018: 65.93% · 2023: 49.48%. The dot chart rounds these to 66% and 49%. These are the complements of the shares below Level 2: 34.07% in 2018 and 50.52% in 2023. No significance claim is made for this derived share change.
Read the comparison and methodology notes
The paired comparison contains the same 12 education systems with NCES trend data in both years: 11 countries and the German benchmarking region North Rhine-Westphalia. It is not a global ranking. International averages use changing sets of participating systems and are not plotted as a trend.
The U.S. average score fell from 519 points in 2018 to 482 in 2023, a 37-point decline. NCES reports this average-score decline as statistically significant. Scores are scale points, not percentages.
The chart keeps systems in alphabetical order. Results from countries that joined or left the study do not change the rows shown. Education systems are not all sovereign countries.
Rounded endpoint scores may not subtract to the displayed change. Changes are calculated from the underlying estimates, then rounded independently.
- Denmark: Both years: participation guideline met after replacement schools. Both years: defined population covers 90 to 95 percent of target population.
- Germany: NCES flags the change estimate with caution because its standard error is between 30 and 50 percent of the estimate.
- Italy: 2018 testing was at the beginning of the school year; 2023 testing was near the end. Interpret the increase with that timing difference.
- Kazakhstan: Both years: defined population covers 90 to 95 percent of target population.
- Korea, Republic of: 2023: participation guideline met after replacement schools.
- North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany): Benchmarking region within Germany, not a separate country. 2023: defined population covers 90 to 95 percent of target population.
- Portugal: 2018: nearly met participation guideline after replacement schools. Both years: defined population covers 90 to 95 percent of target population.
- United States: Neither year met the ICILS sample participation-rate requirement; U.S. results are excluded from international averages.
- Uruguay: 2023: participation guideline met after replacement schools.
These are repeated cross-sectional studies: different groups of eighth graders were assessed in each year. The findings do not establish what caused a score change or evaluate Discovery Desk.
Why this matters to us
Make room
for the doing.
Writing a story. Making a chart. Saving a project and finding it again. We’re building Discovery Desk to give children room to practice using a computer, with parents choosing the activities, time limits and online access.
The research helps explain why these opportunities matter. ICILS did not evaluate Discovery Desk.
See what we’re building