Remote Learning and Test Outcomes: District-Level Evidence from Massachusetts During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 disrupted education systems globally, with many schools shifting to remote learning. Existing research documents average learning losses during the pandemic, few studies examine how these effects varied by exposure to remote instruction at the grade level. This paper contributes to that gap by analyzing the heterogeneous effects of remote learning across two cohorts of Massachusetts elementary and middle school students who experienced differing levels of inperson instruction during the 2020–2021 school year. Using district-level panel data from 2022–2024 on standardized test scores and a fixed effects regression framework, I quantify the relationship between remote learning exposure and standardized test performance, incorporating both year and district fixed effects. I find that greater time spent learning remotely is significantly associated with lower test scores, and that this negative effect is more pronounced for the younger cohort and for ELA test outcomes for both groups.