“Remote learning” as a response to the coronavirus pandemic did not, for the most part, go well. Dozens of surveys and several analyses of school and district websites show that it took the majority of schools multiple weeks to stand up any type of online instruction. Challenges abounded even once they did. Millions of families didn’t have high-speed Internet access or devices suitable for learning. Teachers were unfamiliar with online learning platforms and on average provided instruction just two hours a day. Many students were simply lost, not logging in and unreachable by educators. Parents reported that their children learned less than normal during the crisis.
Some schools, however, did much better.
