LARGE SOCIO-ECONOMIC, GEOGRAPHIC, AND DEMOGRAPHIC DISPARITIES EXIST IN EXPOSURE TO SCHOOL CLOSURES AND DISTANCE LEARNING
What is it?
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many school districts to turn to distance or at-home learning. Studies are emerging on the negative effects of distance learning on educational performance, but less is known about the socio-economic, geographic, and demographic characteristics of students exposed to distance-learning. This report looks into this issues.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many school districts to turn to distance or at-home learning. Studies are emerging on the negative effects of distance learning on educational performance, but less is known about the socio-economic, geographic, and demographic characteristics of students exposed to distance-learning. This report looks into this issues.
Who is it for?
Everyone looking to understand the socio-economic, geographic, and demographic impacts on students who use distance learning.
Everyone looking to understand the socio-economic, geographic, and demographic impacts on students who use distance learning.
What can it do?
The report builds on a U.S. School Closure & Distance Learning Database that tracked in-person visits across more than 100,000 schools throughout 2020. The database, which is publicly-accessible and updated monthly, describes year-over-year change in in-person visits to each school to estimate whether the school is engaged in distance learning. The findings reveal that school closures from September to December 2020 are more common in schools with lower third-grade math scores and higher shares of students who are racial/ethnic minorities, who experience homelessness, are of limited English proficiency, and are eligible for free/reduced-price school lunch. The findings porten rising inequalities in learning outcomes.
The report builds on a U.S. School Closure & Distance Learning Database that tracked in-person visits across more than 100,000 schools throughout 2020. The database, which is publicly-accessible and updated monthly, describes year-over-year change in in-person visits to each school to estimate whether the school is engaged in distance learning. The findings reveal that school closures from September to December 2020 are more common in schools with lower third-grade math scores and higher shares of students who are racial/ethnic minorities, who experience homelessness, are of limited English proficiency, and are eligible for free/reduced-price school lunch. The findings porten rising inequalities in learning outcomes.
Parolin, Z. & Lee, E. K. (2020). Large socio-economic, geographic, and demographic disparities exist in exposure to school closures and distance learning. Nature Human Behaviour, 5, 522-528.. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01087-8