How is the digital divide is affecting U.S. students’ homework?

Oct 8, 2021

A sixth grader completes his homework online in his family’s living room in Boston on March 31, 2020.

America’s K-12 students are returning to classrooms this fall after 18 months of virtual learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Image: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

Katherine Schaeffer

Writer, Pew Research Center

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Mothers, parents with lower incomes more likely than fathers and those with higher incomes to have trouble helping their children with tech for online learning. Image: Pew Research Center

Parents with lower incomes more likely than parents with higher incomes to say their children have faced tech-relate schoolwork challenges in the pandemic. Image: Pew Research Center

Roughly half of adults say schools have responsibility to provide technology to all students during pandemic. Image: Pew Research Center

In 2018, Black teens and those from lower-income households were especially likely to be impacted by the digital 'homework gap' Image: Pew Research Center

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