LANSING – There are 311 full-time virtual schools nationally, including two in Michigan, and that number should not grow until officials can determine why they are underperforming traditional schools and showing a lack of diversity in their student bodies, the National Education Policy Center said in a report released Thursday.
Lawmakers and others have been looking for ways to expand the online schools in Michigan, but the report said the state should move the other direction, removing its current requirement for an online course for high school graduation.
At best, the report said, there is not enough evidence to show that expanding virtual learning will improve student achievement.
“Even a cursory review of media reports and a passing acquaintance with the research on virtual education reveals that policy is being made in an environment much like the legendary ‘wild west.’ There are outsized claims, intense conflicts, lots of taxpayer money at stake, and very little solid evidence to justify the rapid expansion of virtual education,” the report said.
The report showed only 23.6 percent of the online schools were meeting federal adequate yearly progress standards versus 52 percent of traditional schools meeting those standards. And it noted that building-based charter schools were less than a percentage point shy of their traditional counterparts on that measure.
Dan Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, which represents charter schools in the state, had not read the report, but questioned the achievement data, particularly as it might pertain to the cyber charter schools in the state.
“It’s a bit early with those tests to see well enough what’s happening with those students,” he said.
Since the schools are relatively new and the students would be as well, he said any test results available would reflect more what those students accomplished in their prior school than in the cyber school.
The schools also seem to be discriminating in the types of students they attract, the report said. While 54 percent of school children are white, some 75 percent of students in the virtual schools are, the report said.
“Because virtual schools have a large presence in states with large Hispanic populations, such as Arizona, California, and Florida, this finding is surprising,” the report said. “It appears that virtual schools are less attractive to Hispanics, or perhaps that virtual schools are doing less outreach or marketing to this population.”
The schools also attract 10 percentage points fewer low-income students than traditional schools, the report said.
The report also urged states to reconsider their funding formulas for online schools to ensure that state funding for those programs matches the actual cost of providing the services.
“The costliest budget item in a traditional school model is teacher compensation, including salaries and benefits; on average, teacher compensation accounts for 55% of total expenditures,” the report said. “Facilities and maintenance, in most cases the second highest cost, can amount to nearly 18 percent of a school’s budget. The organizational structure of virtual schools – which employ fewer teachers and maintain fewer facilities – makes their expenses in these categories significantly lower, however. As a result, a lower funding level for these expenses in virtual schools appears justified.”
Quisenberry said the assertions of different cost structures did not overcome the idea that funding should be based on the student, not the school.
“We’re saying we value public education for every child in our state and we have certain expectations for them,” he said of the state’s per-pupil funding method. “You start looking at cost structures and you’re going to start saying we value this child and not that child.”
States also should consider new teacher certification requirements for those who will be teaching in online schools to ensure they have the skills required for those programs, the report said.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
