Data and Code for: COVID-19, School Closures, and Outcomes

This article discusses the question of data, and our perspective on the importance of public, accessible, and contemporaneous data in the face of public crisis. Then, we present data on the extent of school closures, both globally and within the United States. We describe the available data on the degree of these closures, which will provide a set of resources for studying longer-term consequences as they emerge. We also highlight what we know about the demographic patterns of school closures. We then discuss the emerging estimates of the short-term impacts of school closures. A central finding throughout our discussion is that school closures during the pandemic tended to increase inequality, both within and across countries. We also emphasize that fully understanding the long-run impact of COVID-related school closures on students will take time and will surely be influenced by events and policies in the next few years.本文围绕数据相关议题展开探讨，并就公共危机背景下公共可获取的同期数据的重要性阐述了我们的观点。随后，我们呈现了全球及美国境内学校停课（school closures）的规模相关数据。我们介绍了可获取的、用于衡量此类停课程度的相关数据，这些数据将为研究此类停课事件随影响逐步显现后的长期后果提供一套研究资源。此外，我们梳理了当前关于学校停课的人口统计学分布特征的已知结论。紧接着，我们探讨了最新涌现的学校停课短期影响评估结果。本研究论述的核心结论为：疫情期间的学校停课往往会加剧国家内部以及国与国之间的不平等现象。此外我们强调，全面厘清新冠相关学校停课对学生群体造成的长期影响仍需时日，且该研究结论势必会受到未来数年各类事件与政策的影响。