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Online students brace for new rules in Colorado
Colorado lawmakers are talking about several measures to increase oversight for the booming online school industry, and their efforts could inspire similar legislation elsewhere as well.
Online school is helping Michelle Nuss catch up. The 17-year-old is only a freshman in high school, falling behind a few years ago when she and her mother were homeless and living in a hotel.
These days, Nuss studies online up to six days a week and hopes she’ll be a junior by the end of the year.
”I love it,” she said of Connections Academy, her publicly funded online-only school. ”They should keep it around and make it accessible for everybody.”
But some Colorado lawmakers want to know if Nuss and other online students are really getting the best education. So far, Colorado’s online schools have shown disappointing results.
A 2010 report by the state Department of Education showed below-average test scores, dropout rates near 50 percent in some cases and, at one school, a student-to-teacher ratio of 317 to 1.
Still, the state’s online school industry is growing by double digits a year. Enrollment grew by more than 12 percent between 2008 and 2009.
For more news about online learning, see:
Online learning provider K12 faces class-action lawsuit
Last year, Colorado spent some $85 million teaching about 14,200 students online. Like brick-and-mortar schools, online schools are funded based on the number of students enrolled on a single ”count day,” Oct.1. Some fear the enrollment procedure gives online schools little incentive to keep pupils enrolled.
State lawmakers are talking about several measures to increase oversight for the booming online school industry, and their efforts could inspire similar legislation elsewhere as well.
”We’re looking at some increased accountability,” said Democratic Sen. Pat Steadman, who plans to sponsor a bill that would change the role of an office within the Education Department called the ”Unit of Online Learning.” Steadman says the office needs ”more teeth.”
3 Responses to Online students brace for new rules in Colorado
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wilkcd
March 5, 2012 at 10:54 pm
I’ve been on both sides of the online school – as an online teacher and as a parent of an online student. For a motivated student who is able to read the online text and work through the material, the online class can allow students to work at a comfortable pace above, at or below grade level as appropriate for that student. The issue is that many students are unprepared for the work needed to be successful in virtual classes. The student is required to take ownership of their education and actually do the work required to learn the material. While a parent/coach is wonderful, the bottom line is that the student ultimately earns the grade.
I am fully in favor of modifying the funding model where the school is paid a fee for enrolling the student, then paid once milestones of learning are met. The issue there will be getting the students to actually do the work. Of course, brick and mortar school students don’t like to do the work either and the state continues to pay schools for seat time.
Ultimately, education is up to the student and the parent. Until parents and students agree to take ownership of education, we will continue to have a crisis in this country. It is not enough for the student to just log in, they must do the work. The same is true in traditional school – it is not enough for the student to just show up, they must do the work. Stop blaming teachers and hold students and parents responsible for actually doing the work!
jsrascal
March 7, 2012 at 1:17 am
I agree with Wilkcd, online does make students accountable for their education, just as brick and mortar does. In most cases it makes the student more accountable because they have true choices to work or not. I agree it is not for everyone, but I am hoping the traditional school can embrace online learning in other ways, blended curriculum is one. Another is where a student can take a couple of classes at the traditional school and take a couple of classes online as well. One example might be where a student wants to chemistry. They do the book work online and come into the traditional school for labs, much like college. I think online can help with flexibility in scheduling and offer students more choices in how they want to receive their education. I feel the more choices a student has, the better the chance they will not get bored or burnt out by their senior year and be more excited about continuing their education. Online is not the magic wand, but it is and should be a viable alternative from many different angles for all students. Finally, one of my concerns with students doing all online is the isolation. We are trying to find ways to keep students connected with other students and become a community of learners. I feel that online education will only get bigger and stronger as new technologies emerge. Multiple learning modes are a must for the new age of learning and our students are showing us the way.
swachter
March 7, 2012 at 12:20 pm
I teach 9th grade English in a Baltimore County school, and am currently enrolled in an online course for teaching online. It seems that with the push for more technology in the face-to-face classroom, that the natural trend will move students more and more out of the classroom in their learning style. I am taking the course for the purpose of incorporating online assignments and assessments into my curriculum. In response to the problem of accountability, I can see in the near future, the public school systems using their own online teachers, both for accountability and consistencey in adhering to the Standards. It would certainly cut back on costs across the board.