How Are They Doing?: Examining Student Achievement in Virtual Schooling

• Main Authors: Barbour, Michael K., Mulcahy, Dennis
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@SHU 2008
• Subjects: virtual schools; online learning; evaluation; rural schools; Educational Assessment; and Research; Educational Methods; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/ced_fac/161; https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1155&context=ced_fac

Six years ago the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation began a virtual high school within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Designed primarily to provide courses in specialized areas to students in rural areas, where schools have difficulty in attracting second language, mathematics and science teachers. However, there has been some concern that the opportunities provided by this virtual high school are "second rate" or only able to cater to independent, self-motivated students. The purpose of the study is to examine the student achievement in standardized public exams and final course scores in the province between different delivery models to determine whether or not students are succeeding in the virtual high school environment at the same rate as their classroom counterparts.