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. 2021 Apr;5(4):522-528.
doi: 10.1038/s41562-021-01087-8. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Large socio-economic, geographic and demographic disparities exist in exposure to school closures

Zachary Parolin  1   2 , Emma K Lee  3
Affiliations

Large socio-economic, geographic and demographic disparities exist in exposure to school closures

Zachary Parolin et al. Nat Hum Behav. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

The coronovirus disease 2019 (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. We introduce a U.S. School Closure and Distance Learning Database that tracks in-person visits across more than 100,000 schools throughout 2020. The database, which we make publicly accessible and update monthly, describes year-over-year change in in-person visits to each school throughout 2020 to estimate whether the school is engaged in distance learning. Our findings reveal that school closures from September to December 2020 were more common in schools with lower third-grade math scores and higher shares of students from racial/ethnic minorities, who experience homelessness, have limited English proficiency and are eligible for free/reduced-price school lunches. The findings portend rising inequalities in learning outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Share of schools closed or mostly closed.
A school is ‘closed’ or ‘mostly closed’ if it experiences a year-over-year decline in in-person visits of at least 50% for a specific month. The sample includes 80,785 public schools per month in 2020.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Share of students exposed to distance learning.
A school is ‘closed’ or ‘mostly closed’ if it experiences a year-over-year decline in in-person visits of at least 50% for a specific month. The sample includes students attending a sample of 80,785 public schools in 2020. FRPL, free/reduced-price lunches.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Share of schools closed or mostly closed by decile rank of given characteristic.
Binned scatterplots where of the share of schools that are closed (50%+ year-over-year decline in in-person visits) among all schools in the specified decile. Average values from September to December 2020 for 80,785 public schools. FRPL, free/reduced-price lunches; SD, standard deviation.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Mean year-over-year decline in in-person attendance among students per county.
The sample includes 80,785 public schools with values averaged over September through December 2020.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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