Heterogeneous Effects of Closing the Digital Divide During COVID-19 on Student Engagement and Achievement

Equitably expanding technology access among K-12 students is viewed as critical for equalizing educational opportunities. But these interventions may influence students’ academic outcomes in unexpected ways. Evidence suggests key technological resources, like broadband Internet, are a double-edged sword, conferring both educational benefits and distractions for children. Technology-oriented educational investments have received substantial investment in the last five years, spiking during the COVID-19 remote learning period, when high-speed Internet access became indispensable to instruction. How did expanding Internet access influence students’ academic outcomes? We leverage Chicago Public Schools’ pandemic-era broadband expansion initiative to assess whether overall levels of, and equity in, educational engagement and achievement improved with increased technology access. Analyses reveal a skill-technology complementarity: broadband program participation boosted remote learning engagement and achievement for previously high-performing students and reduced engagement and achievement for low-performing pupils. Similar heterogeneity patterns remained upon the return to classroom instruction. We conclude that increased technology access may come with greater costs for low-achieving students and benefits for high-achieving ones— contributing to widening pandemic-era educational inequities. Continued investments in expanding technology access without complementary supports for vulnerable students may further fuel these inequities; counterbalancing the negative effects of technology for low-achieving students is thus imperative.