Revisiting the Catholic School Advantage: Evidence from Before and Since the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 1:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Faith, Pedagogy, and Leadership in Catholic Education

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) to compare test score levels and change among Catholic- and public-school attending children in K–12 schools from 2017 to 2022. Using quadratic growth, gain-score, and student fixed effect models, our analysis compares level and change differences across sectors (public and Catholic) and urban vs. non-urban settings. Findings show Catholic school students have higher predicted test scores at baseline and over time, but these differences don’t consistently grow and sometimes diminish. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning across sectors, slowing ELA and math growth. Public school students, especially in non-urban areas, showed stronger math growth and often caught up with or outperformed their Catholic school peers.

Authors

• Wei Gao, Boston College

• Shaun Dougherty, Boston College

• Myra Rosen-Reynoso, Boston College

• Charles T Cownie, Boston College