COVID-19, school closures, and outcomes.
Open accessAbstract
This article discusses the question of data and our perspective on the importance of public, accessible, and contemporaneous data in the face of public crisis. Then, we present data on the extent of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, both globally and within the United States. We describe the available data on the degree of these closures, which will provide a set of resources for studying longer-term consequences as they emerge. We also highlight what we know about the demographic patterns of school closures. We then discuss the emerging estimates of the short-term impacts of school closures. A central finding throughout our discussion is that school closures during the pandemic tended to increase inequality, both within and across countries, but that fully understanding the long-run impact of COVID-related school closures on students will take time and will surely be influenced by events and policies in the next few years.
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The movement away from in-person instruction during the 2020-2021 school year reduced student achievement, worsened children's mental health, and decreased school enrollment.
“There is a growing body of literature suggesting that the movement away from in-person instruction during the 2020-2021 school year reduced student achievement,8,10,11,12 worsened children’s mental health,13,14,15,16 and decreased school enrollment.17,18”
From Virtual Learning in Kindergarten Through Grade 12 During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Chronic Absenteeism (2024) · cites this paper as [8]
The Test Scores section links more remote schooling in 2020–2021 to larger declines in achievement, and the Enrollment section reports lower public-school enrollment in districts offering remote-only instruction. The Mental Health section says evidence linking school closures specifically to poorer mental health is limited and mixed, so the claim that the shift worsened children’s mental health is stronger than this source supports. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredRates of in-person instruction varied considerably along demographic, social, and political lines.
“Rates of in-person instruction varied considerably along demographic, social, and political lines7,8”
From Virtual Learning in Kindergarten Through Grade 12 During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Chronic Absenteeism (2024) · cites this paper as [8]
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Cites
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
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Dee, T. S., Huffaker, E., Phillips, C., & Sagara, E. (2023) · American Educational Research Journal · doi:10.3102/00028312221140029 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
COVID-19, school closures, and student learning outcomes. New global evidence from PISA
Jakubowski, M., Gajderowicz, T., & Patrinos, H. A. (2025) · npj Science of Learning · doi:10.1038/s41539-025-00297-3 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“Country studies show large losses (Alasino et al. 2024; Betthäuser et al. 2023; Carlana and La Ferrara 2023; Donnelly and Patrinos 2021; Engzell et al. 2021; Hammerstein et al. 2021; Jack and Oster 2023; Jack et al 2022; Maldonado and De Witte 2022; Zierer 2021).”
COVID-19, School Closures, and Student Learning Outcomes: New Global Evidence from PISA
Jakubowski, M., Gajderowicz, T., & Patrinos, H. (2024) · doi:10.1596/1813-9450-10666 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Evans, W. N., Muchnick, K., & Rosenlund, O. (2024) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.29569 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
- Authors
- Jack, R., & Oster, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
- Brown University (US)
- ORCID
- Jack, Rebecca
- Venue
- Journal of Economic Perspectives
- Publisher
- American Economic Association
- Published
- 2023-11-01
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 51-70
- ISSN
- 0895-3309 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4388303889
- Cited by
- 57
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 42.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Journal of Economic Perspectives (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Education during COVID-19 pandemic
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts
- Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, school closures, educational data, data accessibility, educational inequality, public crisis
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