IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/29497.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from US States

Author

Listed:
  • Clare Halloran
  • Rebecca Jack
  • James C. Okun
  • Emily Oster

Abstract

We estimate the impact of district-level schooling mode (in-person versus hybrid or distance learning) on test scores. We combine Spring 2021 state standardized test score data with comprehensive data on schooling in the 2020-21 school year across 12 states. We find that pass rates declined compared to prior years and that these declines were larger in districts with less in-person instruction. Passing rates in math declined by 14.2 percentage points on average; we estimate this decline was 10.1 percentage points smaller for districts fully in-person. Changes in English language arts scores were smaller, but were significantly larger in districts with larger populations of students who are Black, Hispanic or eligible for free and reduced price lunch.

Suggested Citation

  • Clare Halloran & Rebecca Jack & James C. Okun & Emily Oster, 2021. "Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from US States," NBER Working Papers 29497, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29497
    Note: CH ED EH
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w29497.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dalit Contini & Maria Laura Di Tommaso & Caterina Muratori & Daniela Piazzalunga & Lucia Schiavon, 2021. "The Covid-19 pandemic and school closure: learning loss in mathematics in primary education," CHILD Working Papers Series 97 JEL Classification: I2, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    2. -, 2020. "Education in the time of COVID-19," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 45905 edited by Eclac.
    3. -, 2020. "Education in the time of COVID-19," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 45905 edited by Eclac.
    4. Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln & Dirk Krueger & André Kurmann & Etienne Lalé & Alexander Ludwig & Irina Popova, 2023. "The Fiscal and Welfare Effects of Policy Responses to the Covid-19 School Closures," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 71(1), pages 35-98, March.
    5. Dan Goldhaber & Scott A. Imberman & Katharine O. Strunk & Bryant G. Hopkins & Nate Brown & Erica Harbatkin & Tara Kilbride, 2022. "To What Extent Does In‐Person Schooling Contribute To The Spread Of Covid‐19? Evidence From Michigan And Washington," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(1), pages 318-349, January.
    6. Angrist, Noam & Bergman, Peter & Matsheng, Moitshepi, 2020. "School's Out: Experimental Evidence on Limiting Learning Loss Using," IZA Discussion Papers 14009, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Musaddiq, Tareena & Stange, Kevin & Bacher-Hicks, Andrew & Goodman, Joshua, 2022. "The Pandemic’s effect on demand for public schools, homeschooling, and private schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    8. Bacher-Hicks, Andrew & Goodman, Joshua & Mulhern, Christine, 2021. "Inequality in household adaptation to schooling shocks: Covid-induced online learning engagement in real time," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    9. Thomas Dee & Elizabeth Huffaker & Cheryl Phillips & Eric Sagara, 2021. "The Revealed Preferences for School Reopening: Evidence from Public-School Disenrollment," NBER Working Papers 29156, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Ardington, Cally & Wills, Gabrielle & Kotze, Janeli, 2021. "COVID-19 learning losses: Early grade reading in South Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    11. Noam Angrist & Peter Bergman & Moitshepi Matsheng, 2020. "School’s Out: Experimental Evidence on Limiting Learning Loss Using “Low-Tech” in a Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 28205, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. João Pedro & Amer Hasan & Diana Goldemberg & Koen Geven & Syedah Aroob Iqbal, 2021. "Simulating the Potential Impacts of COVID-19 School Closures on Schooling and Learning Outcomes: A Set of Global Estimates [Tackling Inequity in Education during and after COVID-19]," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 1-40.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Seth M. Freedman & Daniel W. Sacks & Kosali I. Simon & Coady Wing, 2022. "Direct and indirect effects of vaccines: Evidence from COVID-19," NBER Working Papers 30550, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. David R. Agrawal & Aline Bütikofer, 2022. "Public finance in the era of the COVID-19 crisis," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1349-1372, December.
    3. Jo Blanden & Matthias Doepke & Jan Stuhler, 2022. "Education inequality," CEP Discussion Papers dp1849, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Randall W. Eberts, 2023. "The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on KPS Student Enrollment and NWEA Test Scores," Upjohn Working Papers 23-385, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    5. Caria, Andrea & Di Liberto, Adriana & Pau, Sara, 2024. "Remote Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a Three-Level Survey of Italian Schools," IZA Discussion Papers 17545, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Seth M. Freedman & Kelli R. Marquardt & Dario Salcedo & Kosali I. Simon & Coady Wing, 2023. "Societal Disruptions And Child Mental Health: Evidence From ADHD Diagnosis During The COVID-19 Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 30909, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Kuzmanic, Danilo & Valenzuela, Juan Pablo & Claro, Susana & Canales, Andrea & Cerda, Daniela & Undurraga, Eduardo A., 2023. "Socioeconomic disparities in the reopening of schools during the pandemic in Chile," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    8. Winfree, Paul, 2023. "The long-run effects of temporarily closing schools: Evidence from Virginia, 1870s-1910s," QUCEH Working Paper Series 23-02, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    9. Danielle V. Handel & Eric A. Hanushek, 2024. "Contexts of Convenience: Generalizing from Published Evaluations of School Finance Policies," Evaluation Review, , vol. 48(3), pages 461-494, June.
    10. ASAKAWA Shinsuke & OHTAKE Fumio, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 School Closures on the Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skills of Elementary School Students," Discussion papers 22075, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    11. Casey B. Mulligan, 2021. "Peltzman Revisited: Quantifying 21st Century Opportunity Costs of FDA Regulation," NBER Working Papers 29574, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Benjamin Hansen & Joseph J. Sabia & Jessamyn Schaller, 2024. "In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 59(S), pages 227-255.
    13. Herby, Jonas & Jonung, Lars & Hanke, Steve, 2022. "A Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on COVID-19 Mortality – II," Studies in Applied Economics 210, The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.
    14. Alasino, Enrique & Ramírez, María José & Romero, Mauricio & Schady, Norbert & Uribe, David, 2024. "Learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Mexico," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    15. Kairon Shayne D. Garcia & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2022. "The Impact of U.S. School Closures on Labor Market Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 29641, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Benjamin Hansen & Joseph J. Sabia & Jessamyn Schaller, 2022. "Schools, Job Flexibility, and Married Women's Labor Supply," NBER Working Papers 29660, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Kozhaya, Mireille, 2022. "The double burden: The impact of school closures on labor force participation of mothers," Ruhr Economic Papers 956, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    18. Alejo, Anna & Jenkins, Robert & Reuge, Nicolas & Yao, Haogen, 2023. "Understanding and addressing the post-pandemic learning disparities," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    19. Andres Ham & Emmanuel Vazquez & Monica Yanez-Pagans, 2023. "The Effects of Differential Exposure to COVID-19 on Educational Outcomes in Guatemala," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0313, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    20. Kenneth G. Elzinga & Daniel Q. Harper, 2023. "In‐person versus online instruction: Evidence from principles of economics," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 90(1), pages 3-30, July.
    21. Dan Goldhaber & Thomas J. Kane & Andrew McEachin & Emily Morton & Tyler Patterson & Douglas O. Staiger, 2022. "The Consequences of Remote and Hybrid Instruction During the Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 30010, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Valenzuela, Juan Pablo & Kuzmanic, Danilo & Cortés, Fernanda, 2024. "Socioeconomic inequalities in opportunities and participation in in-person learning during the Covid-19 pandemic," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    23. Benjamin Hansen & Joseph J. Sabia & Jessamyn Schaller, 2022. "In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures," NBER Working Papers 30795, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carlana, Michela & La Ferrara, Eliana, 2021. "Apart but Connected: Online Tutoring and Student Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic," CEPR Discussion Papers 15761, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Agostinelli, Francesco & Doepke, Matthias & Sorrenti, Giuseppe & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2022. "When the great equalizer shuts down: Schools, peers, and parents in pandemic times," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    3. Werner, Katharina & Woessmann, Ludger, 2021. "The Legacy of COVID-19 in Education," IZA Discussion Papers 14796, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Valenzuela, Juan Pablo & Kuzmanic, Danilo & Cortés, Fernanda, 2024. "Socioeconomic inequalities in opportunities and participation in in-person learning during the Covid-19 pandemic," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    5. Krisztián Széll & Borbála Károlyi & Anikó Fehérvári, 2022. "Learning Patterns at the Time of COVID-19-Induced School Closures," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, August.
    6. Josep Amer-Mestre & Alaitz Ayarza-Astigarraga & Marta C. Lopes, 2024. "E-learning engagement gap during school closures: differences by academic performance," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(3), pages 337-359, January.
    7. Hashibul Hassan & Asad Islam & Abu Siddique & Liang Choon Wang, 2024. "Telementoring and Homeschooling During School Closures: a Randomised Experiment in Rural Bangladesh," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(662), pages 2418-2438.
    8. Jo Blanden & Matthias Doepke & Jan Stuhler, 2022. "Education inequality," CEP Discussion Papers dp1849, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    9. Riley K. Acton & Wenjia Cao & Emily E. Cook & Scott A. Imberman & Michael F. Lovenheim, 2022. "The Effect of Vaccine Mandates on Disease Spread: Evidence from College COVID-19 Mandates," NBER Working Papers 30303, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Bacher-Hicks, Andrew & Musaddiq, Tareena & Goodman, Joshua & Stange, Kevin, 2024. "The stickiness of pandemic-driven disenrollment from public schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    11. Boruchowicz, Cynthia & Parker, Susan W. & Robbins, Lindsay, 2022. "Time use of youth during a pandemic: Evidence from Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    12. Małgorzata Krywult-Albańska & Łukasz Albański, 2021. "Gender and Educational Inequalities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Preliminary Insights from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-15, November.
    13. Mustafa Uğraş & Erdal Zengin & Stamatis Papadakis & Michail Kalogiannakis, 2023. "Early Childhood Learning Losses during COVID-19: Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-29, April.
    14. Alan, Sule & Turkum, Betul, 2024. "Abstract reasoning, theory of mind and character development in the school," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 307-326.
    15. Liao, Haoye & Ma, Sen & Xue, Hao, 2022. "Does school shutdown increase inequality in academic performance? Evidence from COVID-19 pandemic in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    16. Helmi Norman & Nor Hafizah Adnan & Norazah Nordin & Mohamed Ally & Avgoustos Tsinakos, 2022. "The Educational Digital Divide for Vulnerable Students in the Pandemic: Towards the New Agenda 2030," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    17. Harbatkin, Erica & Strunk, Katharine O. & McIlwain, Aliyah, 2023. "School turnaround in a pandemic: An examination of the outsized implications of COVID-19 on low-performing turnaround schools, districts, and their communities," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    18. Amith Khandakar & Muhammad E. H. Chowdhury & Md. Saifuddin Khalid & Nizar Zorba, 2022. "Case Study of Multi-Course Project-Based Learning and Online Assessment in Electrical Engineering Courses during COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    19. Kuzmanic, Danilo & Valenzuela, Juan Pablo & Claro, Susana & Canales, Andrea & Cerda, Daniela & Undurraga, Eduardo A., 2023. "Socioeconomic disparities in the reopening of schools during the pandemic in Chile," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    20. Alfonso Infante-Moro & Juan C. Infante-Moro & Julia Gallardo-Pérez & Francisco J. Martínez-López, 2022. "Key Factors in the Implementation of E-Proctoring in the Spanish University System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-16, July.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29497. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.