As an increasing proportion of online and blended learning activity moves to the district level, we and other researchers are challenged by the fact that little data exists about district-level online and blended learning programs. In other categories of programs, data are generally more available because either 1) the schools are public schools that report [...]

We are generally supportive of education reform efforts, many of which are found in charter schools and other non-traditional schools within the public education system. We also recognize, however, that the role of innovators within the non-charter public education system is critically important. Online schools, charter schools, non-traditional schools, and other efforts that are outside [...]

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently released its first look at data collected from 2,150 districts around the country in its report Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2009-10.  The data are incredibly valuable because this is the first large-scale, large-sample effort to collect such information since 2004-05, when [...]

Online learning policy can change quickly, and we already have a significant update to Keeping Pace 2011. As of September 2011, three states required students to complete an online course in order to graduate: Alabama, Florida, and Michigan; see Table 10 on p. 39 for additional details. But that has now changed, as we have [...]

The next type of online programs we’ll dig into are the state virtual schools. In a dedicated section beginning on p. 28, Keeping Pace 2011 identified 40 state virtual schools and state-led online initiatives. State virtual schools typically offer supplemental courses to high school students, although there are examples of additional grade levels served and [...]