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Compensating for academic loss: Online learning and student performance during the COVID-19 pandemic

Author

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  • Andrew E. Clark

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Huifu Nong

    (Guangdong University of Finance & Economics)

  • Hongjia Zhu

    (Jinan University [Guangzhou])

  • Rong Zhu

    (Flinders University [Adelaide, Australia])

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread school shutdowns, with many continuing distance education via online-learning platforms. We here estimate the causal effects of online education on student exam performance using administrative data from Chinese Middle Schools. Taking a difference-in-differences approach, we find that receiving online education during the COVID-19 lockdown improved student academic results by 0.22 of a standard deviation, relative to pupils without learning support from their school. Not all online education was equal: students who were given recorded online lessons from external higher-quality teachers had higher exam scores than those whose lessons were recorded by teachers from their own school. The educational benefits of distance learning were the same for rural and urban students, but the exam performance of students who used a computer for online education was better than those who used a smartphone. Last, while everyone except the very-best students performed better with online learning, it was low achievers who benefited from teacher quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew E. Clark & Huifu Nong & Hongjia Zhu & Rong Zhu, 2021. "Compensating for academic loss: Online learning and student performance during the COVID-19 pandemic," Post-Print halshs-03467128, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03467128
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2021.101629
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03467128
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19 pandemic; Online education; Student performance; Teacher quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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