Just as teachers' perceptions of instructional materials influence what they do with those materials, school leaders' perceptions of instructional materials influence their decisions about how and how strongly to support teachers' material use. The authors address a gap in existing literature by identifying what school leaders regard as key…

Student surveys found that the educational experience in the first months of the pandemic was a mess. As schools quickly implemented remote learning last spring, many students experienced little meaningful online instruction and were unhappy with online classes. This brief from the Evidence Project synthesizes new student surveys that have come…

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic and the following day, entire states began ordering the closure of all schools. By March 25, every public school in the United States was closed and underlying challenges unveiled themselves in every different shape and form. Being a student or youth (ages 12-25)…

Families have been faced with new challenges and uncertainties during the unprecedented times when the world came to a standstill due to COVID-19 in March 2020. The pandemic caused a shut-down of schools and a shift to a remote learning environment with little chance to prepare and understand learning expectations from schools and other…

The coronavirus pandemic has been devastating to countless Americans, particularly people of color and those with low incomes. Young people from these communities have been especially hard hit. The work of organizations that foster young adult talent development, with a particular focus on youth of color and those from low-income communities, is…

The pandemic exacerbated many of the challenges facing higher education in Indiana--declining college-going rates, widening equity gaps, the persistent questioning of the value of higher education--all now compounded by issues of learning loss and economic upheaval. This report provides a pre-pandemic baseline for consideration, as education…

On March 23rd, at the University of Auckland (New Zealand), all lectures were suspended for a week. During this time, both students and staff made a considerable effort to prepare the online delivery of courses. In this chapter we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the Italian beginners courses offered in Semester 1. With no certainty of when the…

This chapter focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on language classes in a Paris university in 2020. The first case studied is a Master of Arts (MA) class in translation studies. The forced and sudden switch to online learning was well accepted by students who cooperated with the academic staff to choose an online platform, in the…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to major disruptions in the way that teachers educate students with disabilities (SWD). Throughout the pandemic, disabilities rights advocates, teachers, families, and lawmakers have expressed concern that SWD would be disproportionately affected by school closures and the shift to remote…

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed long-standing systemic inequities in education with resulting gaps in opportunity and academic achievement. In addition, many affected students have experienced additional trauma as the pandemic has cost lives and livelihoods in families already vulnerable and on the edge. School staff have also experienced…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Bridging the Digital Divide." Contents include: (1) Texas Needs an Equitable…

Growing evidence illustrates the size and character of public-school enrollment declines during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, far less is known about where unenrolled students went. Using unique cross-sector enrollment and mobility data from the state of Hawaii, this study provides evidence that demographic changes and movement to private…

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) periodically surveys its members to better understand how colleges and universities are defining and articulating learning outcomes, providing access to engaging learning experiences (i.e., "high-impact practices"), and assessing student success. Though equity has been a…

Nationally, student debt has doubled between 2009 and 2019 and is now hovering around $1.7 trillion. The impact that student debt financing is having on borrowers of color is harmful and unsustainable. It is also widening the already significant racial wealth gap. The pandemic is likely to only exacerbate these inequities as people of color and…

Emergency room (ER) visits for 12- to 17-year-olds suspected of attempting suicide increased 31 percent during the pandemic, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This trend was especially pronounced for girls, whose ER visits after suspected attempts were 50.6 percent higher in the winter of 2021 than during the…