TY  - SER
AU  - Kofoed, Michael S.
AU  -  Gebhart, Lucas
AU  -  Gilmore, Dallas
AU  -  Moschitto, Ryan
TI  - Zooming to Class? Experimental Evidence on College Students' Online Learning during COVID-19
SN  - 2640-205X
PB  - American Economic Review: Insights
KW  -  Economic Education
KW  -  Higher Education
KW  -  Research Institutions
KW  -  Teaching of Economics
KW  -  Undergraduate
KW  - Health Behavior
N2  - One persistent question in higher education is the efficacy of online education. In the fall of 2020, we randomized 551 West Point students in a required introductory economics course across 12 instructors to either an online or in-person class as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Final grades for online students dropped by 0.215 standard deviations, a result apparent in both assignments and exams and largest for academically at-risk students. A postcourse survey finds that online students struggled to concentrate in class and felt less connected to their instructors and peers. Our results show detrimental effects for online learning
UR  - https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aeri.20230077
ER  -