Traditionally, Americans have learned academic (and social) skills within the brick and mortar walls of a schoolhouse, but a recent push for alternatives to conventional schools have boosted the number of students who attend full-time public virtual schools. Over the weekend, Lyndsey Layton and Emma Brown took a thorough look at virtual schools in their Washington Post article, Virtual Schools Are Multiplying, but Some Question Their Educational Value. The article raised some concerns I thought were worth considering.
According to the article, virtual schools account for a whopping 250,000 students spanning across 30 states. Much of Layton and Brown’s attention is concentrated on the country’s “largest provider of full-time public virtual schools,” K12 Inc., which is equal in size to one of America’s most populous school districts and is headed by former Goldman and Sachs banker, Ronald J. Packard.
Packard and other virtual school entrepreneurs recognize that, for many students, (such as “high achievers, strugglers, dropouts, teenage parents and victims of bullying”), local schools aren’t always the best option. These students may benefit from being homeschooled, and virtual schools are designed to enhance the homeschooling experience. But as this option continues to gain speed, critics are becoming more and more apprehensive.
Much of their apprehension stems from the fact that there is “no real evidence one way or another” of virtual schools’ effectiveness in educating students, according to Tom Loveless, a Brookings Institution scholar. Along these same lines, the Department of Education agreed that “there wasn’t enough research to draw conclusions.”
The lack of data the article brings up is worrisome, but the data the article does cite is even more worrisome. For instance, on the same state tests that traditional public schools are required to take, virtual schools tend to perform worse. According to the article, overall, only a third of these schools met No Child Left Behind’s achievement goals. K12’s oldest cyber school, Agora, has never met federal achievement rates. Even when looking at other student outcomes such as graduation rates, virtual schools do not compare well to traditional public schools. For example, K12’s Colorado Virtual Academy has a graduation rate of 12 percent, compared with 72 percent statewide, and K12’s Ohio Virtual Academy has a 30 percent graduation rate compared with a state average of 78 percent.
Supporters point out that virtual schools appeal mostly to students who were already struggling in traditional schools and that this should be taken into account, which it should. In fact, two-thirds of Agora students are from low-income families. Yet, Aimee Saunders, a former K12 virtual teacher, points out that “students who normally would struggle because of their home environment” are now put in their home to learn.
Critics also have expressed uncertainty about the cost of these schools. Layton and Brown question how “to pay for a school that floats in cyberspace when funding formulas are rooted in the geography of property taxes.” Checker Finn, president of the Fordham Institute and former board member of K12 Inc., echoes this perplexity as he wonders why these schools, which cost less than traditional public schools to operate, are charging the taxpayer the same amount.
Despite criticism and lack of positive data, virtual schools are spreading quickly and legislatures around the country are lifting state laws that once restricted them. The article quotes Saunders, the former Agora teacher, as saying “Virtual schools provide an important new option for families and should be forgiven for missteps.” But when it comes to children, do we really have time for missteps?– Mandy Newport
