The Lasting Impacts of Remote Learning in the Absence of Remedial Policies: Evidence from Brazil

54 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2022 Last revised: 17 May 2023

See all articles by Guilherme Lichand

Guilherme Lichand

University of Zurich - Department of Economics

Carlos Alberto Doria

University of Zurich - Department of Economics

Date Written: May 16, 2023

Abstract

The transition to remote learning in the context of Covid-19 led to dramatic setbacks in education. Is the return to in-person classes sufficient to eliminate these losses eventually? On the one hand, if learning gaps slow down subsequent learning, or if remote learning disrupted student motivation, parental engagement or teachers’ expectations, then the gap between actual and expected learning might persist or even widen as in-person classes resume – unless remedial policies are in place. On the other hand, if most curricular skills are such that students can make up for setbacks rather quickly, and if student motivation and its sustaining environment are not persistently affected, then the gap between actual and expected learning should gradually fade out, even in the absence of remedial policies. We study this question using data from the universe of secondary students in São Paulo State, Brazil. We estimate the causal medium-run impacts of keeping schools closed for longer during the pandemic through a triple-differences strategy, which contrasts changes in educational outcomes across municipalities and grades that resumed in-person classes earlier (already in Q4/2020) or only in 2021. We find that relative learning losses from longer exposure to remote learning did not fade out over time – attesting that school reopening was at the same time key (since it cut losses short) but not enough to mitigate accumulated learning losses in face of persistence. Using observational and experimental variation in local responses across 645 municipalities, we further document that remedial educational policies in the aftermath of the pandemic indeed boosted learning recovery in the State.

Keywords: Learning losses; Remote learning; Covid-19; Recovery; Remedial Policies

JEL Classification: I24, I28

Suggested Citation

Lichand, Guilherme and Alberto Doria, Carlos, The Lasting Impacts of Remote Learning in the Absence of Remedial Policies: Evidence from Brazil (May 16, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4209299 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4209299

Guilherme Lichand (Contact Author)

University of Zurich - Department of Economics ( email )

Zürich
Switzerland

Carlos Alberto Doria

University of Zurich - Department of Economics ( email )

Zürich
Switzerland

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