Post by Merkuri on Mar 15, 2004 10:16:15 GMT -5
[From Wired News: www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,62662,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1 ]
Sketchy Grades for Cyber Schools
By John Gartner
Cyber schools -- where students complete all coursework online using home computers -- are a big hit with parents, who are signing up their children as quickly as the virtual doors open. However, test results for 2003 show students at many cyber schools are not measuring up to state standards or to their peers who attend brick-and-mortar schools.
According to the non-profit Center for Education Reform, or CER, the number of online public schools has grown from 30 to 82 during the past two years, offering instruction in 19 states. That number could more than double in 2004, as school districts in Ohio have granted charters to 63 cyber schools, up from seven in 2003.
"There's no dearth of people interested (in cyber schools)," said Jeannie Allen, president of CER.
Jim Hanak, CEO at one of the newest charter schools, the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, said 176 students have joined the waiting list, and he expects to enroll 1,150 students before school starts in September. Hanak said kids love cyber schools because it enables them to learn at their own pace without distractions from changing classrooms or disruptive students. "Kids like using technology and the immediate feedback they get from interactive learning," he said.
Enthusiasts tout cyber schools for their innovative teaching methods and computer technology. As charter schools, they can operate outside much of the normal bureaucracy of public education. But critics say this freedom to operate independently in developing instruction and choosing subject matter has led to a lack of oversight and accountability, contributing to the poor performance of students in standardized tests.
In Pennsylvania, students who attended the state's six cyber schools scored below the state average in a majority of proficiency tests, according to 2003 test results. The PA System of School Assessment exam, or PSSA exam, given to fifth-, eighth- and 11th-grade students show cyber schools were below the state average in 17 out of 24 comparisons, and in half the cases the schools did not meet the state's goals of 35 percent of students showing proficiency in math, and 45 percent in reading.
For example, SusQ Cyber Charter School and PA Learners Academy did not meet the state goals in math or reading in any of their tested grade levels. Students at Einstein Academy, which had its charter revoked after the 2003 school year for gross financial mismanagement and failure to provide services, exceeded the state average in reading only for 11th graders. The 21st Century Cyber Charter School was the only online school to exceed the state averages in more than half of their tested grades.
In Ohio, the three cyber schools that were tested during the 2002 to 2003 school year similarly did not fare well in standardized tests. The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow was listed as an "academic emergency" by the state Department of Education after it failed to meet the state's goals of 75 percent proficiency in assessments of fourth, sixth and ninth graders. ECOT passed in only one of 22 "indicators of success" -- student attendance.
The Treca Digital Academy's report card states that the school is in "academic watch" after passing just two of 17 indicators. Test results for The Ohio Distance and Electronic Learning Academy were missing from the Ohio Department of Education's website, but information on the OHDELA website states that the school met the state requirement in one of five subjects. OHDELA and the DOE are investigating the omission.
"It's a complete disaster," said Tom Mooney, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, when asked about the performance of Ohio's cyber charter schools. "There should be consequences," he added. Mooney likes the idea of cyber schools, but is uncomfortable with for-profit companies running public charter schools, as is the case the OHDELA, run by White Hat Management, and ECOT, run by Altair Learning Management.
The Ohio DOE has guidelines for escalating actions that must be taken by charter schools that consistently under perform, but revoking a charter is the domain of the individual school districts that sponsor the schools. Mooney disagrees with state rules that allow for-profit companies to have close ties with the groups that start and manage charter schools because millions of taxpayer dollars wind up in private company coffers. "As long as they have enough customers, the state has to keep writing checks."
Tom Baker, the Superintendent of Lucas County Educational Service Center, which granted the charter to ECOT, is happy with the school's performance despite their fourth-, sixth- and ninth-grade students performing below the state averages in every subject.
"ECOT takes at-risk students who may have dropped out, gotten pregnant or were in legal trouble, and gives them a chance to complete their education," said Baker. But he admitted that ECOT is open to any student, and that his district does not have any data that tracks how many students are in the at-risk category.
Baker said that the decision of whether to renew ECOT's charter in two years will be based on annual reviews of student and parent satisfaction by visiting their homes and talking with the school's teachers. "The (DOE) report cards are misleading," Baker said. "If these kids were in any other schools, they'd be bringing down their scores instead."
"Failure to make progress is an important indicator that maybe a school shouldn't be operating," said CER's Allen. "States should be prepared to move in if a school fails to show progress."
ECOT will receive more than $3 million in state and federal funding for the 2003 to 2004 semester.
Despite the test results, many are true believers in the merits of online-based education. Mary Jane Boyd sends her 10-year-old son Stephen to PA Virtual Charter School. "Kids get a lot more individual attention by instant messaging and e-mailing their teachers than if they were in a class with 30 other kids," she said.
Boyd's son previously went to the shuttered Einstein Academy, where she was hired as a teacher despite no teaching experience or training. "I was up until 2 a.m. a lot writing lesson plans, and sometimes my students would still be online working and asking questions."
Boyd and other prospective teachers met on March 11 with PALCS' management team in hopes of landing a job when the school opens in September. PALCS' CEO Hanak is undeterred by the challenges he faced when he ran a cyber school (he was Einstein CEO in 2002) and is excited to launch another with the help of many other former Einstein employees.
"The time is right for online education."
------------------------------
My dad's going back to college now that he's unemployed, and this semester all of his classes are taught online. He absolutely hates it. For the really difficult courses it's nearly impossible to get to the professor to ask questions, or it's hard to phrase the question through IM or message boards. He feels like they might as well give him the book and say "read this," then give him the test. I know I find it hard to learn from books, the classroom experience was essential for me in college. Anyone else have experiences with taking courses online in college or high school/elementary school?
Sketchy Grades for Cyber Schools
By John Gartner
Cyber schools -- where students complete all coursework online using home computers -- are a big hit with parents, who are signing up their children as quickly as the virtual doors open. However, test results for 2003 show students at many cyber schools are not measuring up to state standards or to their peers who attend brick-and-mortar schools.
According to the non-profit Center for Education Reform, or CER, the number of online public schools has grown from 30 to 82 during the past two years, offering instruction in 19 states. That number could more than double in 2004, as school districts in Ohio have granted charters to 63 cyber schools, up from seven in 2003.
"There's no dearth of people interested (in cyber schools)," said Jeannie Allen, president of CER.
Jim Hanak, CEO at one of the newest charter schools, the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, said 176 students have joined the waiting list, and he expects to enroll 1,150 students before school starts in September. Hanak said kids love cyber schools because it enables them to learn at their own pace without distractions from changing classrooms or disruptive students. "Kids like using technology and the immediate feedback they get from interactive learning," he said.
Enthusiasts tout cyber schools for their innovative teaching methods and computer technology. As charter schools, they can operate outside much of the normal bureaucracy of public education. But critics say this freedom to operate independently in developing instruction and choosing subject matter has led to a lack of oversight and accountability, contributing to the poor performance of students in standardized tests.
In Pennsylvania, students who attended the state's six cyber schools scored below the state average in a majority of proficiency tests, according to 2003 test results. The PA System of School Assessment exam, or PSSA exam, given to fifth-, eighth- and 11th-grade students show cyber schools were below the state average in 17 out of 24 comparisons, and in half the cases the schools did not meet the state's goals of 35 percent of students showing proficiency in math, and 45 percent in reading.
For example, SusQ Cyber Charter School and PA Learners Academy did not meet the state goals in math or reading in any of their tested grade levels. Students at Einstein Academy, which had its charter revoked after the 2003 school year for gross financial mismanagement and failure to provide services, exceeded the state average in reading only for 11th graders. The 21st Century Cyber Charter School was the only online school to exceed the state averages in more than half of their tested grades.
In Ohio, the three cyber schools that were tested during the 2002 to 2003 school year similarly did not fare well in standardized tests. The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow was listed as an "academic emergency" by the state Department of Education after it failed to meet the state's goals of 75 percent proficiency in assessments of fourth, sixth and ninth graders. ECOT passed in only one of 22 "indicators of success" -- student attendance.
The Treca Digital Academy's report card states that the school is in "academic watch" after passing just two of 17 indicators. Test results for The Ohio Distance and Electronic Learning Academy were missing from the Ohio Department of Education's website, but information on the OHDELA website states that the school met the state requirement in one of five subjects. OHDELA and the DOE are investigating the omission.
"It's a complete disaster," said Tom Mooney, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, when asked about the performance of Ohio's cyber charter schools. "There should be consequences," he added. Mooney likes the idea of cyber schools, but is uncomfortable with for-profit companies running public charter schools, as is the case the OHDELA, run by White Hat Management, and ECOT, run by Altair Learning Management.
The Ohio DOE has guidelines for escalating actions that must be taken by charter schools that consistently under perform, but revoking a charter is the domain of the individual school districts that sponsor the schools. Mooney disagrees with state rules that allow for-profit companies to have close ties with the groups that start and manage charter schools because millions of taxpayer dollars wind up in private company coffers. "As long as they have enough customers, the state has to keep writing checks."
Tom Baker, the Superintendent of Lucas County Educational Service Center, which granted the charter to ECOT, is happy with the school's performance despite their fourth-, sixth- and ninth-grade students performing below the state averages in every subject.
"ECOT takes at-risk students who may have dropped out, gotten pregnant or were in legal trouble, and gives them a chance to complete their education," said Baker. But he admitted that ECOT is open to any student, and that his district does not have any data that tracks how many students are in the at-risk category.
Baker said that the decision of whether to renew ECOT's charter in two years will be based on annual reviews of student and parent satisfaction by visiting their homes and talking with the school's teachers. "The (DOE) report cards are misleading," Baker said. "If these kids were in any other schools, they'd be bringing down their scores instead."
"Failure to make progress is an important indicator that maybe a school shouldn't be operating," said CER's Allen. "States should be prepared to move in if a school fails to show progress."
ECOT will receive more than $3 million in state and federal funding for the 2003 to 2004 semester.
Despite the test results, many are true believers in the merits of online-based education. Mary Jane Boyd sends her 10-year-old son Stephen to PA Virtual Charter School. "Kids get a lot more individual attention by instant messaging and e-mailing their teachers than if they were in a class with 30 other kids," she said.
Boyd's son previously went to the shuttered Einstein Academy, where she was hired as a teacher despite no teaching experience or training. "I was up until 2 a.m. a lot writing lesson plans, and sometimes my students would still be online working and asking questions."
Boyd and other prospective teachers met on March 11 with PALCS' management team in hopes of landing a job when the school opens in September. PALCS' CEO Hanak is undeterred by the challenges he faced when he ran a cyber school (he was Einstein CEO in 2002) and is excited to launch another with the help of many other former Einstein employees.
"The time is right for online education."
------------------------------
My dad's going back to college now that he's unemployed, and this semester all of his classes are taught online. He absolutely hates it. For the really difficult courses it's nearly impossible to get to the professor to ask questions, or it's hard to phrase the question through IM or message boards. He feels like they might as well give him the book and say "read this," then give him the test. I know I find it hard to learn from books, the classroom experience was essential for me in college. Anyone else have experiences with taking courses online in college or high school/elementary school?
