by Students in rural America still lack access to high-speed internet at home despite government efforts during the pandemic to fill the void. This lack of access affects their academic achievement and overall well-being. The situation is getting worse as the urgency of the pandemic has faded.
These results are based on a new study we conducted to determine the post-pandemic perception of internet access for rural students.
During the pandemic, school districts quickly deployed emergency resources such as Wi-Fi hotspots to facilitate distance learning. In rural Michigan, student home internet connectivity rose to 96% by the end of 2021, a significant 16 percentage point increase from 2019.
However, these gains are temporary. By 2022, student access in rural Michigan began to decline. Today, far more students are disengaged than during the height of the crisis. The downward trend is likely to continue as resources from pandemic emergency measures are reduced
We surveyed students in grades 8-11 from 18 rural Michigan schools before and after the pandemic, tracking changes in their digital access, educational outcomes and well-being. We found that a third of rural students still lack high-speed broadband internet at home.
Why is it important
Our recent report highlights how rural gaps in internet access, primarily lack of home broadband internet access, have not been addressed during the pandemic. And these persistent access gaps can affect students’ digital skills, academic performance and well-being.
Rural students without adequate home internet experience significant educational disadvantages compared to their better-connected peers. These disadvantages include lower classroom grades, lower standardized test scores, lower educational aspirations and lower interest in STEM careers. Our findings link these adverse outcomes, which begin with access gaps, to subsequent digital skills gaps. These digital skills are less likely to develop without reliable broadband connectivity at home.
In early 2020, schools mobilized state and federal relief to provide students with home internet and laptops. Our study shows the success of these initiatives in rural areas, where school-provided Wi-Fi hotspots accounted for nearly all of the 16 percentage point increase in home internet access during the peak of the pandemic. Importantly, as hotspot funding ended, many households maintained access by subscribing to local internet service providers.
The success of switching students from school-provided Wi-Fi hotspots to paid subscriptions is now in jeopardy. Many low-income families rely on the Affordable Connectivity Program, the nation’s largest internet affordability initiative, created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021. This program provides eligible families with a monthly discount of up to US$30 and up to $75 for Native families. American tribal lands. The program is due to expire in April 2024.
We found that internet access among rural students had declined in 2022. This trend is likely to accelerate when the Affordable Connectivity Program ends.
The time young people spend online – surfing the internet, playing video games and interacting on social media – helps them develop valuable skills. These skills include problem solving, information literacy and creative expression. These skills apply to both digital and offline environments. Our research shows that digital skills helped rural students maintain their interest in STEM fields and their goals of pursuing college, even as those interests waned during the pandemic.
In addition, rural teenagers are at a higher level of risk for social isolation. Although the mental health of young people within our study – as measured by self-esteem – has returned to pre-pandemic levels, rural students without adequate home internet are still at higher risk.
What is not known yet
A major challenge in closing the access divide is identifying underserved areas. Accurate maps are critical to channeling billions of dollars in funding from programs like the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, also known as BEAD, and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund toward underserved communities. As part of the process to receive BEAD funding, each state must identify unserved and underserved homes. Local governments, non-profit organizations and internet service providers can also develop rigorous and reliable approaches to challenge the accuracy of these maps.
Maps need to be finalized and grants given to states before large-scale infrastructure improvements can begin. However, some other early initiatives are now coming online. For example, in 2022, the Quello Center at Michigan State University, in partnership with a regional non-profit educational network, initiated the Michigan MOON-Light project. Funded by a $10.5 million grant from the Broadband Infrastructure Program, this project increases the bandwidth on Michigan’s education network that is being made available to local service providers. These providers will provide 17,000 previously unserved households with reliable high-speed internet by the end of 2024.
Still, other major improvements to infrastructure across the country will not be realized for several years.
The Research Brief is a brief overview of interesting academic work.
This article is republished from The Conversation, a non-profit, independent news organization that brings you reliable facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Gabriel E. Hales, Michigan State University and Keith N. Hampton, Michigan State University
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Keith N. Hampton receives funding from Merit Network, Inc, and The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Gabriel E. Hales does not work for, consult with, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and does not disclosed any relevant connections beyond their academic appointment.
