BOSTON (AP) – Computer ate your homework? That may take a while to prove, because the level of technical support hasn’t kept pace with increased computer access in Massachusetts schools, a new report says.

The Department of Education’s annual technology report, released this week, found that more districts have achieved the goal of five or fewer students per computer.

The bad news is just one quarter of districts are able to provide same-day technical support.

Brockton High School sophomore Julie Hancock, 15, says she and her classmates cross their fingers in the computer lab, hoping the equipment doesn’t crash or freeze.

“If they lost all their work in the computer, they have to start all over,” said Hancock, who is among the plaintiffs in a landmark lawsuit that claims the state underfunds low-income districts.

Brockton schools average more than six students per computer. At the high school, teachers reserve class time in one of the computer labs because most classrooms don’t have computers for students, Hancock said. And she said she’s one of the lucky kids who has a computer at home.

“Sometimes kids won’t do assignments because they can’t get computer access,” she said.

Statewide, however, access is improving in the schools. Sixty-eight percent of districts in the 2002-03 school year met the state-recommended standard of five or fewer students per computer.

That’s up from 53 percent the prior year.

The average number of students sharing a modern computer dropped from 5.6 to 4.7, according to the report.

Experts caution that technology is just one educational tool, and that other factors, such as socioeconomics, matter more in student performance. Holyoke, for example, averaged 3.3 students per computer but was declared “underperforming” by the state, while affluent Carlisle averages 7.5 students per computer and is academically successful.

Meanwhile, the report found only 26 percent of districts meet the DOE’s goal of one full-time technical support person per every 200 computers. That’s down from 35 percent of districts in 2001-02.

“This suggests that districts may have purchased additional computers without taking on additional staff to maintain them,” the report said.

Only 25 percent of districts have same-day support available, down from 28 percent the prior school year.

The average turnaround time for resolving technical problems is three days, “a delay that may discourage teachers from using technology,” the report said. “On the other hand, if teachers take on the challenge of solving complicated technical problems on their own, they will have less time to focus on teaching and learning.”

One quarter of districts use students or volunteers for a portion of their technical support.

More districts are tapping into federal “E-Rate” discounts, the report said. Just over three-fourths of districts got discounts – $30 million statewide for Internet services, telecommunications, wiring – compared to 49 percent in 2001-02.

AP-ES-05-07-04 1716EDT