Student Experiences through the COVID-19 Pandemic: Attendance, Online Learning Platform Use, and Annual Survey Reports. Research Report

University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. 1313 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 773-702-3364; Fax: 773-702-2010; Web site: http://consortium.uchicago.edu/

N

32

Lewis-Sebring Family Foundation

COVID-19; Pandemics; Student Experience; Attendance; Online Courses; Educational Technology; Technology Uses in Education; Public Schools; Learner Engagement; Distance Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Blended Learning; Interpersonal Relationship; Study Habits; Academic Persistence; High School Students

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. Beginning in January 2021, the district gradually began to reopen its schools; many CPS students continued learning remotely, while others attended school in hybrid mode--some days spent learning from home and other days in person. This study looks at the student experience during this time, with a particular focus on attendance and student engagement. Given the challenges brought on by the pandemic, coupled with the shift to remote learning, one 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. This study provides 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), offering families, school staff, and policymakers much-needed information about how students fared during remote learning and in the years that followed.

ERIC

2025

ED671114