Across California, 1.8 million children live in homes without high-speed internet, and nearly 690,000 do not have a computer. Moreover, these disparities in access disproportionately impact children of color. Nearly one-quarter of Black families in California and almost one-third each of California’s Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native families do not have high-speed internet access at home. Meanwhile, one in ten each of Black, Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native families do not have a computer.
For the nation’s young people, the COVID-19 pandemic will have an indelible impact on their future prospects for college and careers. These are the talented, driven young people whose collective aspirations represent the future of this nation. With most schools in California reopening virtually this fall, those offering Linked Learning pathways have transitioned their programs to an online environment. Yet a new analysis from All4Ed and the Linked Learning Alliance finds that the students who could gain the most from participating in Linked Learning—students of color and those from low-income families—also are the ones least likely to have the internet access and devices needed to experience Linked Learning from home.
The Linked Learning Advantage
Compared to their peers in traditional high school programs, Linked Learning students
- earn more credits by the end of high school,
- complete more college-preparatory courses,
- are less likely to drop out of school,
- are more likely to graduate from high school, and
- are more likely to enroll in a four-year college.
Source: K. Caspary and M. Warner, Linked Learning and Postsecondary Transitions: A Report on the Early Postsecondary Education Outcomes of Linked Learning Students (Menlo Park, CA: SRI International, 2017).
For additional information about how disparities in internet and device access affect student learning, and to see data for other states, visit all4ed.org/homeworkgap.
To learn more about Linked Learning Alliance and the movement to connect all youth to college, career, and purpose, visit linkedlearning.org.