Darrow.research.vss.nov2010v2

Rob Darrow, Ed.D.
Virtual School Symposium, Nov. 2010
Dissertation Topic
(California State University, Fresno)
Rob’s Wiki: http://robdarrow.wikispaces.com

Virtual School Symposium 2010 Research Presentation. Rob Darrow @ cusd.com. http://robdarrow.wikispaces.com. Nov. 2010.
Background – National Trends
** Online Schools **
Enrollment increases
10% - 30% per year
** Charter Schools **
Enrollment increases
11% - 20% per year
 Two educational trends challenging
traditional education:
•Allen and Consoletti, 2010. Washington, D.C.: Center for
Education Reform.
•Allen & Seaman, 2010.

One Other National Trend:
Static Dropout Rates

A little (parallel) history about charters
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 online charter 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

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)

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

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

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?

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

Online Course Definitions
Allen & Seaman, 2007

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

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
 Full Time Online Students
 One student attending the school
counts one
Watson, Gemin, Ryan & Wicks (2009). Keeping pace with
K-12 online learning.

Counting Online School Students, Part 2
 Part-time online students not officially counted,
except as an estimate in response to a
researcher’s survey
 Full time online students counted if they attend
an online charter school
 In California, public school students, including
online charters, are counted each October via
California Basic Educational Data System
(CBEDS)

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.

Indicators Leading to Student Dropouts
 Individual factors
 Family factors
 School factors
• Balfanz et al. (2009), Hammond (2007), Wehlage et al. (1989)
School factors contribute to the
majority of student dropouts
• Schussler (2002), Natriello, McDill and Pallas (1990),
Rumberger (1987), Wehlage and Rutter (1986)

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

What causes at-risk students
to be successful?
Mentor programs or the
presence of a significant
caring adult can cause at-risk
students to remain in school
• Camak (2007), Rysewyk (2008),
Noddings (2005), Outlaw (2004).

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

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

Year: 2007-2008
CST ELA Comparisons
Percent Proficient and Above
Online Charters Traditional Schools
55%
46%
40%
63%
57%
55%
9th 10th 11th

56%
48%
46%
64%
60%
57%
9th 10th 11th
Year: 2008-2009
CST ELA Comparisons
Percent Proficient and Above

Results: Dropout Rates
2006-07 and 2007-08
 Reported yearly in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
 Selected Online Charter Schools
 Selected Traditional Schools
Note: Dropout data from 2008-2009 not available

Year: 2006-2007
Dropout Percentages by Grade
Note: 2006-07 Online Charter School Enrollment in
Grades 11 and 12 was less than 100 students per grade
2%
6%
0.60%
0.90%
9th 10th

Year: 2007-2008
Dropout Percentages by Grade
22%
29%
32%
59%
0.70% 0.50% 0.70%
4%
9th 10th 11th 12th

Statistics: In California…
 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

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%

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

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 grow with or without the
involvement of traditional schools

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

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/

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