COVID-19 and the Digital Divide in Virtual Learning

To understand and quantify the pattern and magnitude of the pandemic’s effect on young students, this research brief examines the digital divide in virtual learning by analyzing survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The major findings include:

1. At the state level, the pandemic digital divide mirrors the technological gap prior to COVID-19, revealing that systematic inequalities are being reproduced across time.
2. Limited technological access persists during the Fall 2020 semester, but is less severe than the Spring 2020 semester, indicating that schools have been better able to adapt to new realities.
3. The problem has increased in recent weeks, due perhaps to re-closing as some schools respond to coronavirus infections.
4. Inaccessibility is associated with fewer virtual contacts with teachers and fewer hours spent on learning and studying.
5. During the Fall 2020 semester, racial inequality is significant, with African Americans and Hispanics being 1.3 to 1.4 times as likely to experience limited accessibility as non-Hispanic Whites.
6. Low-income households are most impacted by unavailability, with over two-in-five households having limited access to a computer or the internet.
7. The lack of access to technology is tied to parents’ educational attainment, affecting nearly two in five households where the respondents have no more than a high school education.
8. Students in younger households are most likely to experience technological barriers.