Representative online survey of 200 Pennsylvania LEAs on pandemic-era instruction¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

An online survey the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Mathematica distributed to a representative sample of 200 LEAs during the summer and fall of 2021. It asked LEAs (school districts and charter schools) about instructional approaches, special education services, technology barriers, and health and safety measures during the 2020–2021 school year. The brief states it "describes how Pennsylvania LEAs ... responded to the public health emergency and other challenges."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Distribution to a representative sample of LEAs by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Mathematica

Constraints¶

• Covers Pennsylvania school districts and charter schools during the 2020–2021 school year only

Target Learners¶

• K-12 students in Pennsylvania school districts and charter schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• Delivery of instruction and student support services during pandemic-era remote, hybrid, and in-person schooling

Claims¶

• Reliable Internet access was a larger barrier to remote and hybrid learning than device access, especially in urban areas [+W]
• Most students were in LEAs adopting a wide range of COVID-19 health and safety measures, but few were in LEAs with regular COVID-19 testing [+W]
• In-person learning in Pennsylvania LEAs expanded as the 2020–2021 school year progressed [+W]
• Most Pennsylvania students were in LEAs that prioritized students with disabilities for in-person instruction, and the pandemic made special education services harder to provide [+W]

Related Elements¶

• Spectrum of school operational approaches during COVID-19, from fully remote to fully in-person with hybrid approaches between

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Stephen Lipscomb, Forest Crigler, Duncan Chaplin. (2021). School Instruction in Pennsylvania During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mathematica. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/school-instruction-in-pennsylvania-during-the-covid-19-pandemic