1. What happened to student attendance in grades K-12 during the remote/hybrid school year (2020–21) and the two subsequent years (through 2022–23), measured in different ways:
- Official absence rates collected by the district.
- Participation in the online learning platform during the remote/hybrid school year 2020–21.
- We also examine the relationship of indicators of attendance and online participation with students’ grades during the remote/hybrid school year.
2. What happened to students’ reports on the 5Essentials Survey of their school experiences in grades 6-12 during the remote/hybrid school year (2020–21) and the two subsequent years (through 2022–23), including:
- Relationships with teachers, peers, and parents
- Social skills, perseverance, and study habits
- Instructional practices and academic engagement.
The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented disruption in schooling for teachers, students, and their families. Chicago Public Schools (CPS), like many districts around the nation, shifted to fully remote learning in spring 2020, and most of its schools remained closed during fall 2020.
Given the challenges brought on by the pandemic, coupled with the shift to remote learning, we would not expect students’ experiences with school and learning to be the same during the pandemic as in pre-pandemic years. But there has been little systematic evidence available about what changed during the remote learning period and what did not.
In this study, we provide evidence about the experiences of CPS students in grades K-12 during the remote/hybrid school year (2020–21) and the two subsequent years (through 2022–23).
Key Takeaways
- In the remote/hybrid year, students’ reports of feeling supported by teachers and peers were higher than pre-pandemic.
- With all of the focus on test scores, it’s important to remember the human experience during and after peak COVID experiences.
- A natural threshold surfaced for remote instructional time.
- Most students in grades 2–12 spent four hours in synchronous instruction with teachers—regardless of the specific requirements for their grade level.
Key Findings
- Absence rates increased during the remote/hybrid year (2020–21), and increased further in the year students returned to in-person instruction (2021–22). They improved slightly in the 2022–23 school year but remained above pre-pandemic levels.
- During the remote/hybrid school year (2020–21), students at all grade levels spent approximately four hours in synchronous instruction. As a result, a natural threshold surfaced for remote instructional time.
- High school students participated in synchronous remote instruction on more days than they were counted present for school. This suggests that high school students spent less than the required number of minutes in synchronous instruction, rather than missing entire days of school
- Students reported stronger relationships with teachers and peers during the remote/hybrid year.
- Students’ reports of support from parents declined with the pandemic, especially among middle-grade students.
- Students’ reports about their social skills and perseverance were declining before the pandemic, then declined considerably in the remote/hybrid year and remained at 2011 levels or lower in the following two years, especially in the middle grades.
- Student reports about instructional experiences and engagement have not returned to the record-high levels observed in the years just before the pandemic, but are mostly above 2011 levels.
