Revisiting Ethnic Differences in In-Person Learning During the 2021-22 School Year

Revisiting Ethnic Differences in In-Person Learning During the 2021-22 School Year

Andrew Camp, Alison Johnson, Gema Zamarro

Journal paper

Journal of School Choice

2023

During the 2020–21 school year, Black students were less likely to learn in person than white students. We examine whether this difference persisted as the pandemic progressed. We find that the rate of in-person learning increased in 2021–22 but remained lower for Black students compared to white students. While several factors helped explain observed racial differences in learning modality in 2020–21, only modality offerings continued to be an important explanatory factor in 2021–22 and a Black-white in-person learning gap persisted after controlling for offerings and other factors. These findings suggest a mismatch between Black families’ preferences and the options offered by their schools.