Education and learning are constantly changing. Throughout history, we have seen complete transformations of who has access to schooling, how teachers share information and, of course, what subjects and “ologies” are explored. In our current moment in history, perhaps the biggest educational transformation happening is the rise of remote learning.

As more people have access to the internet and personal computers, students have greater freedom to explore education of all levels through digital networks. Notably, over the past year, with COVID-19, the opportunity for remote learning has turned into a necessity, and across the United States, the ability to learn remotely varies greatly from state to state and even from household to household.

Interestingly, a new study from Grand Canyon University reported that the best cities for remote learning, particularly for K-12 education, include Seattle, Virginia Beach, and Portland. The study came up with their rankings by giving 50 cities scores out of a possible 100 points based on their performance for various factors including access to a computer and internet, public school spending per student, the average household income and the local hourly tutor rate.

Seattle the top-ranked city scored 76 out of a possible 100 points, which is pretty impressive considering the range of factors involved in the score. Interestingly, Seattle made the top of the list with Washington itself falling outside of the top 20 states for per-pupil spending in K-12 scores. Perhaps, Seattle’s widespread internet access and high income average mean that parents are privately able to help their child succeed with remote learning despite lower support from their state.

It’s also worth noting that one state, California, was home to four of the top 20 cities for remote learning, including San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento. In a state where COVID-19 cases continue to create friction between educators and government officials seeking to re-open schools, perhaps it is important that solid remote learning options in the state continue to educate K-12 students.

The study also listed the cities that had the lowest scores for their ability to facilitate remote learning. The lowest-ranking cities included Detroit, Memphis, and New Orleans. Detroit, the lowest-scoring city, only scored 37.3 out of a possible 100 points, less than half of the top city, Seattle.

The wide gap between the top-scoring and low-scoring cities in the studies speak to greater trends in inequity in remote learning across the United States. Factors like availability of internet access for students and teachers can make the world of a difference between a student continuing to receive remote education and students falling a year behind in their schooling. Further, factors like whether teachers have been trained to teach live, the types of digital media used in connection and the distractions in home learning environments can even create inequities across districts where demographic factors seem similar.

Hopefully, as remote learning and general education involves, we will be able to see gaps close and all students learn more wherever they are.