In-person learning during the pandemic: Student take-up and school-level effects of remote and hybrid instruction on student outcomes

Stephen L. Ross (), Shangyue Jiang, Michael F. Young, Joanna L. Meyer and Michael J. Strambler
Additional contact information
Stephen L. Ross: b Education Program, National Bureau of Economic Research , Cambridge , MA 02138
Shangyue Jiang: a Department of Economics, University of Connecticut , Storrs , CT 06269
Michael F. Young: c Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut , Storrs , CT 06269
Joanna L. Meyer: d Division of Prevention and Community Research, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven , CT 06511
Michael J. Strambler: d Division of Prevention and Community Research, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven , CT 06511

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024, vol. 121, issue 33, e2407322121

Abstract:

While studies have examined the effects of schools offering in-person learning during the pandemic, this study provides analysis of student enrollment decisions (remote versus in-person) in response to schools providing in-person learning opportunities. In Connecticut during the 2020–21 school year, we find that student take-up of in-person learning opportunities was low with students on average enrolled in-person for only half of the days offered, and take-up was even lower in schools with larger shares of disadvantaged students. The provision of in-person learning opportunities has been previously shown to mitigate pandemic learning losses. By exploiting data on actual enrollment, we show that the protective benefits of in-person learning are twice as large as previously estimated once we account for the low rates of student take-up. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that a key mechanism behind the benefits of in-person learning is alleviating the burden faced by schools and teachers in delivering remote education. First, we show that the benefits to individual students of their in-person learning are substantially smaller than the overall benefits a student receives from their school average level of in-person enrollment. Second, we show that a combination of remote and in-person learning (hybrid) with a full-time on-line presence of students when at home was worse than hybrid learning with students never or only partially online. This second finding is consistent with qualitative evidence showing that teachers found hybrid learning especially challenging when having to manage both in-person and remote students for the entire class period.

Keywords: remote learning; pandemic; student take-up; hybrid instruction; teacher burn-out (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nas:journl:v:121:y:2024:p:e2407322121

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