| This report explores policies and practices governing online education with a particular focus on policies aiming to provide students with high-quality online learning experiences. The report looks specifically at two areas: state-level policies governing online education, and statewide online programs (i.e., programs created by legislation or by a state-level agency, and/or funded or administered by a state department of education or another state-level agency to provide online learning opportunities across the state). Online learning has developed explosively over the past five years. As of July 2005, 21 states have statewide online learning programs, and cyberschools and/or district-level online programs operate in almost every state. Both statewide programs and cyberschools report rapid growth, with registrations and enrollments typically experiencing double-digit percentage annual increases. Despite the explosive growth, relatively little is known about the programs that conduct online learning. What percentage of students passes the courses they take? What is the quality of their learning experience? How much does it cost to provide online courses, and what are the best methods for paying that cost? Questions like these raise complex issues of policy, practice, and philosophy. While online-learning practitioners have been grappling with such issues for years, state policymakers have moved much more slowly; and the concern raised four years ago by the National Association of State Boards of Education--that online learning developments would outpace the capacity of policymakers to shape these developments in constructive ways--has turned into an increasingly accurate prediction. |   |
