Concerns on K-12 Students' Online Learning

Majority of parents of K-12 students are concerned now about screen time, social connections, emotional well-being, and access to extracurricular activities.

FREMONT, CA: As schools continue to grapple with the best method to offer instruction amid the pandemic outbreak, most parents of students in K-12 schools express issues about their children falling behind in school because of disruptions caused. There are massive divides between parents whose children are going to school completely in person and those whose children are engaged in learning when it comes to their evaluations of and concerns about the education their kids are presently receiving.

Concerns about children falling behind are specifically common among parents of K-12 students who are receiving at least online instruction this fall; those whose learners are receiving a mix of in-person and online instruction are the most concerned. Parents of K-12 students attain only in-person instruction and are very satisfied with the means their children’s school is handling instruction amid the pandemic.  The share of parents who opine their children are home-schooled has increased massively since the spring.

Parents whose children are gaining a mix of in-person and online instruction are concerned about their children falling behind. Those whose children are receiving in-person instruction only are the least likely to be concerned. About two-thirds of parents of K-12 students say they or another adult in their household is offering additional instruction or resources to their children beyond what is being offered by the school.

While several parents of K-12 students say they or another adult in their household is offering additional resources to their children beyond what is being delivered by the school, a relatively small share say they have hired someone to do this. Parents whose children are receiving a mix of in-person and online instruction say they have hired someone to do this.