Young children wearing masks, sitting at school desks and writing.

Brief

Parents Voice Concerns About Pandemic’s Impact on School-Age Children

March 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on school-age children may last for years. To gauge parents’ concerns about that impact, the Consumer Finance Institute (CFI) included student-related questions in recent editions of its COVID-19 Survey of Consumers as reflected in this latest research brief.

CFI presented five statements to parents of school-age students (those attending kindergarten through grade 12) and asked them whether they agreed, disagreed, or were neutral on each statement.

I am concerned about my student(s) contracting COVID-19 while in school.
Concerns about COVID-19 risks among school-age children are overblown.
Masks should be required for anyone in the school building and on school transportation.
COVID-19 rules and practices in the school are negatively impacting students’ education.
Our school district has implemented appropriate safety measures to minimize COVID-19 risks.

While there was general agreement across the full responder population on all of the statements, we did see variation across different demographic and geographic segments. For instance, a wide majority (74 percent) agreed with the sentence: “I am concerned about my student(s) contracting COVID-19 while in school.” Agreement rates were the highest among high earners, urban dwellers, and those aged 36‒55 years. But all demographic groups had agreement rates well above 60 percent.

A key takeaway from the survey was that most parents (59.6 percent) felt COVID-19 rules and practices were negatively affecting their students’ education. This attitude has increased across almost all segments compared with the responses in October 2021. Despite concerns about education disruptions, a majority of parents expressed satisfaction with how their local school districts are facing the COVID-19 challenge. Nearly three out of four (74.4 percent) parents agreed with the statement: “Our school district has implemented appropriate safety measures to minimize COVID-19 risks.” All the demographic segments recorded agreement rates above 60 percent.

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CFI COVID-19 Survey of Consumers — Employment, Income, and Financial Security as of January 2022

Tom Akana

28 Feb ’22

This report shares results from Wave 11 of a national survey of consumers investigating the effects of COVID-19 on employment and income data, including employment through the crisis, income changes across the last two years, and financial security over the next three to 12 months.

Consumer Finance

Report

CFI COVID-19 Survey of Consumers — Employment, Income, and Financial Security as of October 2021

Tom Akana

14 Dec ’21

This report shares results from Wave 10 of a national survey of consumers investigating the effects of COVID-19 on employment and income data, including employment through the crisis, income changes and expectations for income in 2021, and financial security over the next three to 12 months.

Consumer Finance

Brief

More Are Receptive to Vaccines, but Fewer Are Optimistic About the Future

As vaccination rates continue to creep higher in the U.S., this latest research brief reveals that consumers have turned a more cautious eye toward the economic outlook, according to key findings of the 10th COVID-19 Survey of Consumers conducted by the Consumer Finance Institute (CFI).