Technology Counts 2012: Virtual Shift

Overview & Synopsis

Virtual education is moving into that intersection where rising popularity meets calls for greater accountability. How the virtual education movement responds to those calls will have a significant impact on how it evolves in K-12 over the next five to 10 years. This report tackles this shift in the virtual education landscape. It examines the growth of district-based programs designed with more local control in mind, and it tracks state legislative efforts to expand online education while also evaluating its effectiveness. It also covers the critical accountability questions facing virtual education providers, particularly for-profit companies, and issues related to the financial sustainability of state-sponsored e-schools. To get a better handle on the perspectives of district administrators on virtual education, "Education Week" conducted an online poll of such administrators who are Education Week readers. Although not a scientific sampling of district opinion, the poll offers some findings worth thinking about. Of the 367 respondents, 93 percent said they think virtual education providers need to integrate more accountability measures into their programs to make sure they are working effectively. That nearly unanimous call for greater accountability dovetails with a key recommendation in the 2011 edition of "Keeping Pace With K-12 Online Learning," an annual review of policy and practice conducted by the Evergreen Education Group. The report says that "it is critical that states create the systems by which online and blended learning providers can demonstrate results and be held accountable." Many of the district-level administrators who responded to the survey of Education Week readers agreed. There is likely a gap, however, between the accountability measures schools would like to see happening and what is actually happening.