blog post High School Graduation during the COVID-19 Crisis By Niu Gao, Joseph Hayes Apr 16, 2020 School closures and the move to distance learning present challenges in ensuring that California students, especially those from low-income families or with special educational needs, stay on track for graduating.
blog post More Students Have Digital Devices, but Internet Gaps Persist By Niu Gao, Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill Oct 27, 2020 State investments have increased the share of California students with digital devices at home, but disparities remain when it comes to reliable internet access.
blog post What’s Ahead for Education Recovery in California? By Niu Gao, Julian Betts, Bruce Fuller, Laura Hill Oct 20, 2022 National test scores show that the pandemic caused major disruptions to student learning, with especially large effects on Black, Latino, and low-income students. In the coming months and years, we will be studying strategies that the state’s school districts use to help students recover, and recover equitably.
blog post Testimony: California’s K–12 Digital Divide Has Narrowed, but Access Gaps Persist By Niu Gao Feb 21, 2024 At an Assembly Education Committee hearing on addressing students’ post-pandemic needs, PPIC senior fellow Niu Gao discussed the role that federal, state, and local efforts have played in increasing digital connectivity and outlined key challenges that remain.
blog post COVID-19 Shutdown Forces Colleges to Ramp up Online Learning By Hans Johnson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Kevin Cook Mar 30, 2020 As higher education in California moves online, the state’s prior experience with distance learning points to effective practices, as well as certain challenges, in helping students succeed.
Report The Impact of COVID-19 on Science Education By Niu Gao, Kathy DiRanna, Maria T. Chang Fay Jun 21, 2022 COVID-19 school shutdowns were especially disruptive for science education, which has long been a lower priority than math and English language arts. But as California schools recover from the pandemic, state policymakers can take steps to promote equitable investments in science literacy.
blog post Video: Californians and Education By Vicki Hsieh May 7, 2021 PPIC’s Rachel Lawler and Mark Baldassare discuss new survey findings about Californians’ views on student learning during the pandemic, Governor Newsom’s handling of K–12 education, and other topics.
blog post Students Prepare for AP Exams during COVID-19 By Niu Gao Apr 30, 2020 Students who are less economically advantaged and those with special educational needs could face challenges in preparing for and taking AP tests this year.
blog post Are Students Spending Enough Time on School during the Pandemic? By Niu Gao, Laura Hill, Julien Lafortune Jan 26, 2021 Most K–12 students in California are spending less time on educational activities during the pandemic, with significant racial and socioeconomic disparities.
Fact Sheet The Digital Divide in Education By Darriya Starr, Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao Jun 15, 2022 The pandemic spurred efforts to close longstanding gaps in digital access that affect African American, Latino, and lower-income students.
