Online Learning in K-12 Environments

New Research Examines a Trend in Online Education for High School Students

Online universities have been a widely discussed phenomenon for years now, but the subject of online learning in high school has gone unnoticed for some time. However, urban and rural high schools alike are increasingly likely to be making use of online courses as a supplement to their standard offerings.

A new study authored by Anthony G. Picciano, Jeff Seaman and Scott Day has spearheaded the task of examining this new trend in high school education. They researched over 200 schools across Illinois and partnering with the Illinois Principals Association in order to gather information and gauge attitudes about the use of online courses and blended courses (courses in which some but not all of the course components are delivered online) in high schools today.

It’s important to remember that while online universities today have garnered respect and earned their place in the American landscape of higher education, it was not always this way. The pedagogical quality of online education comes into question again and again, but online learning has continually shown its efficacy in the statistics.

While this has paved the way for the further introduction of online components into high school curricula, many people still bristle at the thought of young people being educated through their computers rather than in a traditional classroom setting. As stated in the study, “There were positives and negatives, the yeas and the nays, that typically arise whenever the use of the latest technology is suggested for changing the way children are educated.”

While online universities primarily aim to provide quality higher education to those for whom scheduling and geographical concerns make studying on a campus a barrier, the use of online education in high schools serves different ends.

The study revealed four main uses for online courses in high school, these being credit recovery (allowing students to make up online credits lost due to sickness, absence, or academic failure); providing new elective courses which would not otherwise be offered at the school; providing advanced placement courses which would not otherwise be offered at the school; and providing alternative educational experiences to students with specialized needs.

It’s important to note that two of these aims are directly geared towards helping students graduate and move forward towards furthering their educational careers after high school. Most obviously, the effort to help students recover lost credits with online courses serves this end. But the offering of advanced courses online is also a stepping stone for students into higher education. As stated in the study:

“By enrolling in online and blended learning courses, high school students no longer need to be transported to a college campus, can enroll in college courses taught by college professors, and can be given college credit immediately upon completing and passing their coursework. Data from this study indicated that high school administrators see online elective college-level courses as an effective way for some of the more able students to begin their college careers.”

The study revealed a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism amongst school principals about the use of online courses but also found that for many schools in the sample, their doubts about the pedagogical quality of online means was outweighed by the benefits.

The study found that rural schools, for example, had significant needs related to “funding, teacher certification, and small enrollments that forced them to creatively address the needs of their students,” often through the means of online offerings.

But while these issues may be felt most acutely in rural schools, the researchers discovered that schools in “all locales (cities, towns, and suburbs) are facing serious challenges.” In urban schools, one of the greatest issues is floundering graduation rates. For an issue like this, the ability to offer students a chance to recover credits online is a great boon (not sure about this work) both to the administration and to the students themselves.

The study focused mainly on the attitudes of schools towards online education, and it may be that in years to come more research will be published about the efficacy of the methods. We have seen with online universities that such research has shown that online learners learn just as well or better than those in traditional universities – but whether or not this is the case for online learners in high school is impossible to say.

One thing is for sure. High schools are moving forward into the online realm with or without reservations. With 74% of principles in favor of online credit recovery options and more than half of the sample in favor of online electives and advanced placement courses, it is clear that principals feel that online learning can help close the gaps in their curricula and serve to better the educational experience of their students.