Technology access problems during the COVID shift were more prevalent among minoritized students and students from lower-income households¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 2 associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Minoritized students were more likely than non-minoritized students to experience internet connectivity problems often or very often (20% vs. 12%), and lower-income students about twice as likely as high-income students (22% vs. 11%). → Means 2020 q2 i? Hispanic and Black students (11% combined) experienced hardware or software problems often or very often more often than White students (5%). → Means 2020

q2 i? Students from minoritized race/ethnicity groups were more likely than non-minoritized students to experience internet connectivity problems often or very often (22% vs. 12%), and lower-income students (under $50,000) were almost twice as likely as households earning $100,000 or more (22% vs. 12%). → Means 2021

Evidence¶

Means 2020¶

Means, B., Peters, V., Neisler, J., & Griffiths, R. (2020). STEM Courses During the COVID Pandemic: Lessons from Spring 2020. Digital Promise Global. https://digitalpromise.dspacedirect.org/items/7900cb79-6ea5-44d0-aad6-34aa81e9bf4b

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Weighted chi-square analyses of the national survey of 620 STEM students compared minoritized vs. non-minoritized groups and income bands, finding "20%" vs. "12%" and "22%" vs. "11%" for frequent connectivity problems; hardware/software problems followed the same pattern (11% combined Hispanic/Black vs. 5% White).

"students from minoritized race/ethnicity groups were more likely to experience internet connectivity problems often or very often (20%) compared to students from non-minoritized groups (12%). Students from lower-income households (annual incomes under $50,000) were also twice as likely to experience internet connectivity problems often or very often (22%) compared to students from households earning $100,000 or more (11%)."

Means 2021¶

Means, B., Peters, V., Neisler, J., Wiley, K., & Grifths, R. (2021). Lessons from remote learning during COVID-19. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/116

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Same national student survey (n = 1,008, weighted sample 23% Hispanic, 15% Black, 37% under $50,000 income). The survey found minoritized students more likely to experience connectivity problems "often or very often (22%)" versus 12% of non-minoritized students; hardware/software problems showed the same pattern (12% vs. 5%).

"were more likely to experience internet connectivity problems often or very often (22%) compared to students from non-minoritized groups (12%)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Nearly half of STEM students experienced internet connectivity problems that interfered with course participation after the COVID shift to remote instruction — related
• Hispanic and low-income students reported more challenges and technology problems after the shift online than non-Hispanic White and higher-income peers; rural students did not differ — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Large shares of students faced technology problems serious enough to impede course participation: 44 percent internet connectivity and 23 percent hardware/software issues — a broader claim this one bears on
• High-poverty schools were overrepresented among New York charter schools that had not provided devices to students before building closure (86.8% of non-providers vs 79.3% of the sample) — related
• Students in low-income or minoritized settings are more likely to receive low-quality technology uses such as drill-and-practice — related
• Hispanic students reported higher frequencies of six of the seven non-technology challenges measured in the survey — related
• Four or more major challenges were more prevalent among women, Hispanic and minoritized students, and lower-income students — related
• Despite more challenges, minoritized, female, and lower-income students were more likely to rate their online STEM experience as good as or better than in person — related
• Higher education digital divides are acute at MSIs, HBCUs, and TCUs, which have stark capability deficits in hardware, software, and broadband — related
• Motivation, internet connectivity, and hardware/software problems were widespread challenges in remote STEM courses — related
• Community college students hold concrete quality criteria for edtech, including evidence of claims, accessibility, and peer and faculty connection — related
• AI/AN youth dropout rates reach up to 50 percent, and college matriculation and retention rates remain very low compared to White peers — related
• Low-income and multilingual parents report less welcoming school staff and more negative school experiences than higher-income and English-speaking parents — related
• Students of color receive disparaging signals about belonging and ability that their White upper-middle-class peers are far less likely to receive — related
• AI in adult education risks reinforcing existing inequalities via the digital divide, particularly for rural, low-income, and marginalized learners — related
• GenAI-mediated digital inequality in higher education extends beyond access to tool capability, skills, and pedagogical support — related
• Distributing hardware without capable software produced no measurable effect on mathematics or language scores in a large randomized evaluation, as the article reports citing Cristia et al. — related
• Individual internet penetration in rural Bangladesh (36.5%) is about half the urban rate (71.4%), which one case-study preprint argues puts cloud-dependent AI tools out of reach for rural learners — related
• Global inclusion gaps persist despite large EdTech investment — related
• San Diego regional data show STEM access and pay remain inequitable by race, socioeconomic status, and gender — related
• Children with poorer parents suffer more, and children of high school educated parents experience the largest welfare losses — related
• Internet connection rates in Canada differ sharply by income, with 97% of the highest income quartile connected versus 58% of the lowest — related
• Low-income households make significant sacrifices to maintain Internet access, which can account for almost 8% of monthly household expenses — related
• The article asserts that excellent accountability management systems and digital transformation capabilities guarantee equal access to education for all students — reports the opposite
• Learning deficits are appreciably larger in middle-income countries than in high-income countries, with no evidence available from low-income countries — related
• Remote interventions were being considered as a means to support equity and inclusion during COVID disruptions — related
• The multilevel digital divide presents multiple challenges for parents in technology-integrated family–school partnerships — related
• The second-level digital divide (skills and usage gaps) limits the benefits of technology-integrated family–school partnerships for many parents — related
• Digital technology in family–school partnerships provides new opportunities but raises concerns for families with limited access or digital skills — related