Half of Massachusetts high school students would prefer to learn in-person every day, even though a large majority are at least partially remote during the pandemic, according to a new report.
A Gallup-Barr Foundation survey of 1,000 Massachusetts students between the ages of 14 and 18 found that 50% would like to attend school physically full-time, compared to 34% who prefer a combination of some time in-person and some time remote and only 16% who want to be entirely remote.
Those outlooks contrast sharply with the actual education landscape in the state nearly a year into the pandemic. The survey of high schoolers, conducted from Nov. 18 to Dec. 9, found that only 6% are learning in fully in-person settings, 55% are in a hybrid model, and 39% are all-virtual.
In October, a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education survey of all districts – not just high school students – found that 23% of districts were fully remote and the other 77% offered either fully or partially in-person schooling. The department plans to update its survey this month, according to a spokesperson.
The shift to new learning models has had disproportionate impacts on lower-income students and students of color.
Gallup’s survey found significant gaps in the internet infrastructure required for remote learning. Seventy-seven percent of white students polled lived in households with broadband service and a reliable internet connection, while 59% of Black students and 58% of Hispanic students had the same experience.