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Student Engagement in Charter and Traditional Public Schools before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Working Paper No. 331-1225

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Student Engagement in Charter and Traditional Public Schools before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Working Paper No. 331-1225
Language: English
Authors: Zeyu Xu, Dan Goldhaber, Rachel Dao, National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR)
Source: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER). 2025.
Availability: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, Washington, DC 20007. Tel: 202-403-5796; Fax: 202-403-6783; e-mail: info@caldercenter.org; Web site: https://caldercenter.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 87
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: Walton Family Foundation
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Descriptors: Charter Schools, Traditional Schools, Public Schools, COVID-19, Pandemics, Learner Engagement, Attendance, Graduation Rate, Dropout Rate, Student Characteristics, Institutional Characteristics, Community Characteristics, School Districts, Elementary Secondary Education
Abstract: Student engagement -- attendance, drop out, and graduation rates -- with schooling has been a major concern since the COVID-19 pandemic. While drops in engagement in traditional public schools (TPS) have been widely chronicled, little is known about charter schools. With more operational flexibility, charter schools could potentially keep students more engaged in the face of major disruptions like the pandemic. Using school-level data from 38 states, we compare engagement measures in TPS and charters, finding that engagement deteriorated by similar magnitude in both school sectors on average. Controls for student demographics, school attributes, district and community characteristics or state and district fixed effects explain 40- 60% of the variation in student engagement, but they have no impact on the estimated relative changes in student engagement between charter schools and TPS. These relative changes, however, vary substantially across states.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED681030
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Student engagement -- attendance, drop out, and graduation rates -- with schooling has been a major concern since the COVID-19 pandemic. While drops in engagement in traditional public schools (TPS) have been widely chronicled, little is known about charter schools. With more operational flexibility, charter schools could potentially keep students more engaged in the face of major disruptions like the pandemic. Using school-level data from 38 states, we compare engagement measures in TPS and charters, finding that engagement deteriorated by similar magnitude in both school sectors on average. Controls for student demographics, school attributes, district and community characteristics or state and district fixed effects explain 40- 60% of the variation in student engagement, but they have no impact on the estimated relative changes in student engagement between charter schools and TPS. These relative changes, however, vary substantially across states.