Virtually Real Results

A recent article on NPR, "Virtual Schools Bring Real Concerns About Quality" brought to light the quality question of virtual/online schools. While online classes have existed previously for allowing students to catch up on classes, new all-online schools have changed the role of these classes. They allow students to take classes otherwise not offered as well as work at their own pace, be it faster or slower.

The major concern noted in the article, though, is the fact that these new all-online schools are falling below average when it comes to their test scores. The CEO of K12, one of these online schools, says that the reason is that these students are marginalized from their regular classroom peers, thus their scores will not be equal. Many, he said, are low income or their previous school system was not adequate. Thus, they found themselves in an online academy. Additionally, the article notes that these online schools spend significantly less in paying their teachers. The teachers in these online schools are also paid less than their counterparts in a regular school because they have the comfort and flexibility of teaching at home. Also, the schools spend less on hiring well trained special education teachers, although 1 out of 10 kids within these online academies are considered special needs. Some of the classes hold online collaborations in real time, where students have to work with each other regardless of where they are logging on.

The major question of whether or not the online schools are really successful is still a question being researched. I feel like for younger kids, it is not a good option. These are the most formative years of their life, and not allowing them to have a classroom interaction with their peers and teachers may hinder their social abilities. In addition, a substantial amount of research as pointed to limiting a child's time in front of screens. Having their entire education online obviously wouldn't do anything to work with that. Rather, it would increase it tenfold.

The major benefit of having these classes online is the range of classes a student can take as opposed to those offered within a traditional school, particularly when it comes to high school electives. The students will be able to take different languages or more advanced classes that they may not get within their own school district. That being said, the question of quality is still arising. Are these students still getting as good of an education as their peers in a traditional classroom?

While I think that having one class per semester online might be beneficial to children who struggle in that certain subject, having an entire school online for k-12 education could do more harm than good. It's hard to evaluate, though, when the results aren't abundant. It's the same issue with judging the success of charter schools and schools of choice. Once there are results that prove the viability of these online schools, perhaps my tune will change a bit. But until then, I think there is still a lot to be said about learning in a traditional classroom.