Contrary to popular belief, the report says, it’s not just advanced students who are benefiting from online instruction. Respondents said online learning is meeting the needs of a wide range of students–from those who want to take advanced classes to those who need extra help or credit recovery.
And rural students seem to be benefiting the most.
“The loudest and clearest voices were those of respondents representing small rural school districts. In these places, online learning is not simply an attractive alternative to face-to-face instruction but increasingly is becoming a lifeline to basic [high-]quality education,” the report says.
“Shortages of teachers in high-demand secondary school subject areas such as science, mathematics, and foreign languages, as well as [schools with] modest property tax bases and the lowest per-pupil expenditures …, have forced rural school districts to use their financial resources as wisely and effectively as possible.”
Online learning gives these districts a cost-efficient way to deliver courses that otherwise would require hiring teachers, the report says–many of whom “would be uncertified in their subject areas and … would not have enough students to justify their salaries.”
Without online learning, one survey respondent said, “there may have been 40 fewer high school graduates in our small county last year.”
Though online learning is meeting the needs of a variety of students, including those who need credit recovery or extra help, many respondents noted that students have to be disciplined to succeed in an online environment.
“Observation: Students [who] struggle with reading have difficulty with online courses. Students [who] are self-starters and with average or above academic skills find the highest success rate with online courses,” wrote one respondent.
The study found that concerns about the quality of online courses and the costs of providing them are the key barriers to K-12 online instruction. Responses suggested that a more thorough evaluation of online learning will help overcome any remaining questions about its rigor.
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