How Can States and School Districts Support Equitable Remote Instruction During School Closures?

• In Event: Provision of Curriculum and Remote Instruction in the United States During COVID

Abstract

Objective. We propose to examine how state and school district policies and initiatives may have supported more equitable remote instruction during COVID-19.

Perspectives. While we know that students in high-poverty settings and rural areas were less able to access online instruction during school closures (Malkus, 2020; Hamilton, Kaufman and Diliberti, 2020), we do not know the extent to which state and district policies and messaging might support more equitable instruction. For example, states might have already been engaged in work to support wider broadband access and free digital curricula, or districts could have already had policies in place that supported one-to-one devices for students.

Methods and Data Sources. We drew on data from the RAND American Teacher and School Leader Panels (ATP and ASLP), which are nationally representative survey panels of teachers and principals who have been selected to participate through random probability-based methods. The American Teacher Panel also includes state-representative samples in a large number of states. We specifically utilized data from two RAND surveys intended to gather information about teaching and learning during school closures in Spring 2020 as a result of COVID-19. These data are available for the public through a data portal on the RAND website, with restricted data available upon request.

We developed weighted, nationally representative and state representative estimates of curriculum and instruction during school closures, based on teacher and school leader reports. We also conducted regression analyses to investigate: (1) how school characteristics are related to the quality of student instruction; (2) the extent to which school preparedness metrics like one-to-one student-device ratios prior to COVID are related to the quality of instruction; and (3) whether the state in which a teacher resides is related to the quality of instruction, when accounting for school and teacher demographics. We defined the quality of instruction through teacher and school leader reports regarding the proportion of students interacting with teachers on a regular basis each week, completing their assigned work regularly, and being exposed to most of the curricula they would have been exposed to if schools had not closed.

Results. We identified clear inequities regarding the types of schools where teachers reported regular interaction with teachers and relatively complete coverage. For example, 14 percent of urban and suburban teachers reported covering all or nearly all of the curriculum, which was twice the percentage of teachers in town and rural schools who reported doing so. We also found that school principal reports regarding their preparedness were related to the quality of instruction provided in schools.

Significance. These data could inform states and school districts about necessary steps to support equitable remote instruction in the case of emergencies like COVID-19, as well as help us identify the types of schools that are likely to need more support post-COVID.

Authors

• Julia Heath Kaufman, RAND Corporation

• Melissa Kay Diliberti, RAND Corporation

• Laura S. Hamilton, ETS