Schools' new frontier
Published: June 27, 2008 5:12 a.m.

Schools' new frontier

Online learning
The Center for Evaluation & Education Policy at Indiana University has released a policy brief on virtual education in the U.S. and Indiana.
On the Web: http://ceep.indiana.edu/
CEEP's recommendations:
  • Virtual course offerings should meet or exceed Indiana state standards.
  • The Indiana State Board of Education should approve all virtual school courses.
  • All teachers who provide online instruction should receive training.
  • Teachers who provide full or partial online instruction should be fully licensed.
  • Virtual school students should meet the same graduation requirements as all Indiana students.
  • Public funding for virtual schools should be fair and flexible, possibly based on a sliding scale or by course or credit hour.
  • The state should commission an evaluation of virtual school effectiveness based on assessment data.
• All Indiana students should complete at least one online course to graduate from high school.

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State education policymakers have an invaluable research tool in the form of Indiana University's Center for Evaluation & Education Policy. And just in time, the center has delivered a thorough and thought-provoking study of the bold new world of virtual education. Its recommendations should serve as a guideline for lawmakers as they consider the future of online learning in Indiana.

A summer study committee of the General Assembly is about to look at virtual schools, currently not covered by Indiana law. When Ball State University proposed two virtual charter schools last year, lawmakers studied the cost and placed a two-year moratorium on their funding. This fall, Hoosier Academies will open schools in Muncie and Indianapolis that will deliver much of their instruction online, but students will still attend classes at learning centers twice a week to meet the state's requirement of delivering more than 50 percent of instruction in person.

A pure virtual school is the obvious next step. The moratorium is set to expire, the need exists, and the record on virtual schools has grown enough to allow Indiana to join 18 other states in offering a new education option without encountering the problems some states have seen. Those problems include issues over how to pay for virtual schools and how much to pay, teacher quality and licensing, and how to measure student performance.

The IU study looks at all of those issues, plus the advantages of online learning. It also makes recommendations for avoiding the pitfalls encountered elsewhere. Terry Spradlin, CEEP's associate director for education policy and a co-author of the report, said virtual education can be a "win-win situation" in providing additional classes, such as Advanced Placement courses, to traditional students, and by serving students on the fringes whose needs aren't met in bricks-and-mortar schools. That includes some gifted students, who sometimes complain that they are bored by school.

Spradlin said the report was intended to give policymakers sound information as they decide what to do about cyberlearning by profiling other states and offering examples of supplemental online instruction already taking place in Indiana.

One caveat for advocates of virtual schools: The policy center's 2007 opinion poll on education found that 75 percent of respondents were opposed to charter schools offering all instruction online. That suggests the public does not see the value of virtual education or mistrusts those who would be providing it, and lawmakers could be swayed by the strong opposition.

If parents and other supporters are committed to expanding education options for Indiana students, they must stop promoting online instruction as an alternative to "failing" public schools. Indiana's public schools are not failing - they might not serve the needs of every student or parent, but they more than adequately serve most. Pitting virtual schools against existing public schools is guaranteed to erode the political support needed to forge an effective virtual school law.

Instead, cyberschool supporters should make their case based on the special needs of the comparatively small number of students who will directly benefit - students with emotional or physical needs or students who simply aren't suited for a traditional classroom setting.

In the end, a well-crafted virtual school law will not only benefit that niche group of students, but it could also expand learning opportunities for students in traditional schools and better prepare them for college and lifelong learning. And to that end, the CEEP study is an invaluable blueprint.