Data and Code for: Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from U.S. School Districts

We estimate the impact of district-level schooling mode (in-person versus hybrid or virtual learning) in the 2020-21 school year on students' pass rates on standardized tests in Grades 3--8 across 11 states. Pass rates declined from 2019 to 2021: an average decline of 12.8 percentage points in math and 6.8 in English language arts (ELA). Focusing on within-state, within-commuting zone variation in schooling mode, we estimate districts with full in-person learning had significantly smaller declines in pass rates (13.4 p.p. in math, 8.3 p.p. in ELA). The value to in-person learning was larger for districts with larger populations of Black students.

Subject Terms:  standardized tests; US public school districts; COVID-19; schooling mode; virtual school; hybrid school; in-person school

Time Period(s):  2016 – 2021

Universe:   United States public school districts in CO, CT, MA, MN, MS, OH, RI, VA, WI, WV, WY

Data Type(s):    administrative records data; aggregate data

Unit of Observation:  US public school districts

Geographic Unit:   US public school districts by zip code

Related Publications

The following publications are supplemented by the data in this project.

• Halloran, Clare, Rebecca Jack, James Okun, and Emily Oster. “Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from US States.” Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, November 2021. https://doi.org/10.3386/w29497.

• Jack, Rebecca, Clare Halloran, James Okun, and Emily Oster. “Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from U.S. School Districts.” American Economic Review: Insights, n.d.