Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Student Achievement in Arkansas: Comparing On-Site, Hybrid, and Virtual Modes of Learning. ACT Research. Technical Brief

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruptions to the educational system in Arkansas and across the United States. At the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, schools in Arkansas were forced to replace on-site instruction with virtual instruction. During the 2020-2021 academic year, there were three student instructional options: on-site/traditional learning, hybrid/blended learning, or virtual/remote learning. Arkansas has administered the ACT® Aspire Assessment System (3rd-10th grades) and the ACT® test (11th grade) statewide since spring 2016. ACT Aspire testing was canceled in spring 2020 because of the pandemic. Using ACT Aspire and ACT results from spring 2019 and spring 2021, the research summarized in this paper examines impacts of the pandemic on student achievement in Arkansas. The paper is organized into two parts. In the first part, Comparing Performance from 2019 and 2021, the author presents a formal analysis of performance in spring 2019 (before the pandemic) and spring 2021 (during the pandemic) and accounts for changes in test participation and the tested population across years. In the second part, Comparing On-Site, Hybrid, and Virtual Modes of Learning, the author examines whether performance in spring 2021 varied by mode of learning and compares results for each mode-of-learning group to their performance in spring 2019.