When schools went remote during the pandemic, internet access became essential, but not all students had access to a high-quality connection. So, in the summer of 2020, Chicago launched Chicago Connected to provide free broadband for students in the city who needed it most. But, according to a recent paper, Chicago Connected did not help all students equally.

In Heterogeneous Effects of Closing the Digital Divide During COVID-19 on Student Engagement and Achievement, authors Jared N. Schachner, Nicole P. Marwell, Marisa de la Torre, Julia A. Gwynne, and Elaine Allensworth find that participation in Chicago Connected actually “reduced engagement and achievement for low-performing pupils.”

What might be going on here? Should this finding influence how schools approach technology more generally? And how can schools ensure that technology use doesn't increase inequality?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with one of the paper's authors, Jared N. Schachner.

Jared N. Schachner is a research scientist at the USC Price School of Public Policy and an affiliated researcher with the UChicago Consortium on School Research and the Los Angeles Education Research Institute.