Rob Darrow, Ed.D . Virtual School Symposium, Nov. 2010

1. Dissertation Topic (California State University, Fresno) A Comparative Study Between Online Charter High Schools and Traditional High Schoolsin California Rob Darrow, Ed.D. Virtual School Symposium, Nov. 2010 Rob’s Wiki: http://robdarrow.wikispaces.com

2. Background – National Trends • Two educational trends challenging traditional education: ** Charter Schools ** Enrollment increases 11% - 20% per year ** Online Schools ** Enrollment increases 10% - 30% per year • Allen and Consoletti, 2010. Washington, D.C.: Center for Education Reform. • Allen & Seaman, 2010.

3. One Other National Trend:Static Dropout Rates

4. A little (parallel) history about charter and online schools • 1991-1992 – First states pass charter school laws (Minnesota and California) • 1994 – 1997 - First K-12 online schools. • Utah Electronic School, VHS, Inc., Florida Virtual School • 2007 – Number of onlinecharter schools: • 173 in 18 states • 92,235 students (Center for Ed Reform, 2008) • 2009 – More than a million K-12 online school students(Picciano and Seaman, 2009) • 2009 – 5,042 charter schools serve over 1.5 million students in 40 states

5. Research Focus: California, because… • In California • 13% of the total U.S. K-12 public school student enrollment • 20% of the U.S. public charter school enrollment • Top rated state regarding charter school law and policy • National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (2010)

6. Research Focus • Full Time Online Charter School Students • Full Time Traditional High School Students • At-Risk Students • In California • Measured By: • Achievement Test Scores • Dropout Rates

7. Two silos from which information was collected: Full time students in traditional high schools, Grades 9-12, in California Full time students in online charter high schools, Grades 9-12, in California

8. Research Questions • 1. Are there more at-risk students attending online charter high schools than traditional high schools in California? • 2. Are at-risk students more successful in online charter high schools than in traditional high schools in California?

9. Defining Terms • Online High School • Attending courses online where 80% instruction is online • Charter School • independently operated public schools of choice (allowed by law in 40 states) • At-Risk • any student not making progress towards graduation • Success • proficient on California Standards Test/English-Language Arts (CST ELA) • lower number of student dropouts

10. Online Course DefinitionsAllen & Seaman, 2007

11. How are students who are at-risk / dropouts counted? • One student counts as a dropout if either: • A. Leaves a school and does NOT register at another school OR • B. Leaves a school and does NOT have a high school diploma • Standards set by US Department of Education (reported by states) • Counted in Grades 7-12 in California

12. How are online school students counted? • Part-time Online Students • Take one or two online courses in addition to attending traditional school • One student in one course per semester counts one • Not officially counted (researcher surveys) • Full Time Online Students • One student attending the school counts one • Officially counted

13. Research and Dropouts “Lack of school success is probably the greatest single cause which impels pupils to drop out of school.” • Ayres (1909). Laggards in our schools.

14. High school graduation rates • Graduation rates have stayed the same…75% for the past 40 years • Wehlage et al. (1989)

15. Comparison Study • Online charter high school students • 14 existed in California – 2006-2009 • Traditional high school students • Comparisons in: • Growth Rates • Achievement Rates • Dropout Rates

16. Results: California Standards Test / English-Language Arts (CST ELA)2007-08 and 2008-09 • Taken yearly in grades 9, 10 and 11 • Selected Online Charter Schools • Selected Traditional Schools

17. Year: 2007-2008CST ELA ComparisonsPercent Proficient and Above Online Charters Traditional Schools

18. Year: 2008-2009CST ELA ComparisonsPercent Proficient and Above Online Charters Traditional Schools

19. Results: Dropout Rates2006-07 and 2007-08 • Reported yearly in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 • Selected Online Charter Schools • Selected Traditional Schools

20. Year: 2006-2007Dropout Percentages by Grade Note: 2006-07 Online Charter School Enrollment in Grades 11 and 12 was less than 100 students per grade Online Charters Traditional Schools

21. Year: 2007-2008Dropout Percentages by Grade Online Charters Traditional Schools

22. Statistics: InCalifornia… • Enrollment in online charter schools has increased each year for the past three years: 80%from 2006-07 to 2008-09 • Percent of students in charter high schools: 6% of total 9-12 enrollment • Percent of students in online charter high schools: .16% of total 9-12 enrollment

23. Results: Achievement and Dropouts • Student Achievement (CST ELA) • Somewhat greater in traditional high schools than in online charter schools • Percentage difference ranged from 8% to 11% • Dropout Rates • Much greater in online charter schools than in traditional schools • Percentage difference ranged from 22% to 55%

24. Implications for Practitioners • Full time online programs and charter schools attract more “at-risk” students because they have already left a traditional school • How to engage “at-risk” students in online or charter schools is the same as traditional schools: need caring adults to build relationships with students

25. Final Reflection Based on My Research • Future students will attend schools that do have online options • Education at all levels (K-12, community college, university) should be designing and offering fully online courses now • Online learning will growwith or without the involvement of traditional schools

26. Questions? Rob’s Wiki: http://robdarrow.wikispaces.com

27. Selected References • Charter School Statistics • Allen, J., & Consoletti, A. (2010). Annual survey of America's charter schools. Washington, D.C.: Center for Education Reform. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://www.edreform.com/Press_Box/Press_Releases/?Annual_Survey_of_Americas_Charter_Schools_2010. • Tice, P., Chapman, C., Princiotta, D., & Bielick, S. (2006). Trends in the use of school choice 1993-2003. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007045. • Online School Statistics • Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2010). Learning on demand: Online education in the United States, 2009. Newburyport, MA: The Sloan Consortium. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from http://www.aln.org/publications/survey/learning_on_demand_sr2010. • Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2007). Online nation: Five years of growth in online learning. Newburyport, MA: The Sloan Consortium. Retrieved December 10, 2009, from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/online_nation. • Watson, J., Gemin, B., Ryan, J., & Wicks, M. (2009). Keeping pace with K-12 online learning. Denver, CO: Evergreen Education Group. Retrieved December 10, 2009, from http://www.kpk12.com/download.html. • At-Risk Students • Wehlage, G. G., Rutter, R. A., Smith, G. A., Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. R. (1989). Reducing the risk: Schools as communities of support. New York: Falmer Press. • Cataldi, E. F., Laird, J., KewalRamani, A., & Chapman, C. (2009). High school dropout and completion rates in the United States: 2007. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009064. • California Dropout Research Project. http://www.cdrp.ucsb.edu/. • National Dropout Prevention Center. http://www.dropoutprevention.org/ • Alliance for Education Excellence. http://www.all4ed.org/