The troubling impact of America’s opioid epidemic on student learning
▻https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/04/13/the-troubling-impact-of-americas-opioid-epidemic-on-student-learning
Today, the Brown Center on Education Policy is releasing a new report on one of the unexplored effects of the opioid crisis: the link between the opioid epidemic and the educational outcomes of children in hard-hit areas. Written by Rajeev Darolia and John Tyler, the report suggests a need to be aware of the potentially negative effects of the opioid crisis on student learning, particularly in certain “hot spots” and rural areas.
Though school-age children are not typically directly involved with opioid use, they are not immune to the effects of what happens in their homes and communities. There has long been evidence that negative home or community factors can be associated with lost learning opportunities. For example, children exposed to
higher levels of neighborhood violence have worse education outcomes than children who are less exposed. In a similar vein, childhood exposure to the ravages of the opioid epidemic may result in worse educational outcomes.
Et cet important passage :
Research on the societal effects of the opioid epidemic, as opposed to the direct effects on individuals with opioid-use disorder, is just emerging. Darolia and Tyler’s report contributes to this less-established line of research by examining the effects of the opioid epidemic on a critical societal question—how indirect exposure to the epidemic may harm the education outcomes of children who live in communities most affected by the opioid crisis.
The authors present results from an original analysis into the relationship between student outcomes and opioid use. Their estimates suggest that among both rural and nonrural counties, test scores are lower in counties with higher drug-related mortality. However, the estimated test scores for rural counties show a stronger negative association with drug-related mortality than similarly affected nonrural counties. Further, the rural-nonrural gap appears to grow as mortality levels increase.
Exposure to the epidemic is likely to impact important educational outcomes other than test scores, such as attendance, probability of school disciplinary action, graduation, and college enrollment—all of which warrant further examination.