COVID-19 and College Academic Performance: A Longitudinal Analysis

Núria Rodriguez-Planas

No 14113, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using an unbalanced panel of close to 12,000 academic records, and difference-in-differences models and event study analyses with individual fixed effects, we evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lower-income students' academic performance during the spring 2020 semester relative to their higher-income peers. We find a differential effect by students' pre-COVID-19 academic performance. Top-performing lower-income students experienced a decrease in both grades (5% lower) and earned credits (11% fewer) during the spring 2020 semester relative to their higher-income peers. In contrast, lower-income students in the bottom quartile of the fall 2019 cumulative GPA distribution outperformed their higher-income peers with a 9% higher spring 2020 GPA. After ruling out alternative mechanisms, we find suggestive evidence from survey data that top-performing lower-income students' lower relative performance may be driven by greater challenges with online learning and a disproportionate intake of incomplete courses relative to their higher-income peers. Among bottom-performing lower-income students, greater concerns with maintaining financial aid than their higher income peers may have led them to a higher use of the credit/no credit grade option instead of a letter grade.

Keywords: difference-in-difference models and event analysis; COVID-19; income and performance inequality; unbalanced panel of academic records (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I22 I23 I24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2021-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cfn
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - substantially revised version published as 'COVID-19, College Academic Performance, and the Flexible Grading Policy: A Longitudinal Analysis' in: Journal of Public Economics, 2022, 207, 104606

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