Working Paper: NBER ID: w30010
Authors: Dan Goldhaber; Thomas J. Kane; Andrew McEachin; Emily Morton; Tyler Patterson; Douglas O. Staiger
Abstract: Using testing data from 2.1 million students in 10,000 schools in 49 states (plus D.C.), we investigate the role of remote and hybrid instruction in widening gaps in achievement by race and school poverty. We find that remote instruction was a primary driver of widening achievement gaps. Math gaps did not widen in areas that remained in-person (although there was some widening in reading gaps in those areas). We estimate that high-poverty districts that went remote in 2020-21 will need to spend nearly all of their federal aid on academic recovery to help students recover from pandemic-related achievement losses.
Keywords: remote instruction; hybrid instruction; achievement gaps; race; school poverty
JEL Codes: I22; I24; I25
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| remote instruction (F24) | widening achievement gaps (I24) |
| high-poverty schools (I24) | achievement loss (I24) |
| remote instruction (F24) | negative impact on Black and Hispanic students (I24) |
| high-poverty districts (I32) | need for federal aid (H84) |
| shift in instructional mode (A21) | widening achievement gaps (I24) |