Leaders of schools that rely heavily on
online credit recovery say they try to purchase courses that can be easily broken apart, so teachers can reorder the lessons or pull out specific sections to meet individual students» needs.
Not exact matches
That's exactly the problem with
online credit recovery programs; the speed with which they offer
credit,
said Liz Pape, president of the Virtual High School Global Consortium, which promotes effective
online learning and course design.
In a recent editorial, the Los Angeles Times called into question the district's record - high 75 percent graduation rate, as it
said that the figure was based in part on LA Unified's dependence on its less - than - rigorous
online credit -
recovery courses.
The majority of
credit recovery is not done
online,
said Carol Alexander, the district's director of A-G intervention and support.
Apex Learning CEO Cheryl Vedoe
said the company began in 1999 by providing
online advanced placement programs, but in 2005 it started providing
online credit recovery programs, which have «really just taken off from there.»
The district
said last year that 42 percent of its 2016 graduates had taken some kind of
credit recovery, whether it was an
online course or re-taking a class.
The MTDA works with schools to identify the additional resources students need to be successful in the
online credit recovery program, the study
said.
«Students taking one Montana Digital Academy
online credit recovery course per semester had lower passing rates than those taking multiple courses in a semester,» the study
said.
The district has yet to disclose how many seniors graduated due to at least one
online credit recovery course, but some are
saying the way the record was achieved is questionable.
According to the report, the National Center for Education Statistics
said 88 percent of school districts around the country offered some form of
credit recovery courses to their students in school year 2009 - 10, and, «as
online and blended learning have grown significantly in the last five years, it is likely those numbers are significantly higher now.»
Last year, LA Unified's Chief Academic Officer Frances Gipson
said that California's public universities had approved the
online credit recovery courses provided by Edgenuity and others as acceptable for admission.
«
Online credit recovery options allow schools to serve students throughout the year, across a range of subjects, and with few additional resources,»
said Sarah Frazelle, coauthor of the study.
Gipson also
said the district had worked with California universities and colleges to make sure the
online credit recovery programs are approved by them.
The report also
said the number of district - initiated
online learning programs is unknown and «there is no coherent definition emerging among states that cite
credit recovery programs in statutes or administrative code.»
While district officials and some board members are saluting the
credit recovery program, some academic scholars and institutions are skeptical of
online credit recovery programs,
saying they are an easy way to boost graduation rates without boosting student learning.
The majority of
credit recovery is not done
online,
said Carol Alexander, the district's director of A — G intervention and support.
No, I think they should look at it,» Zimmer
said when asked about reports that the University of California system is reviewing
online credit recovery courses to see if they will be accepted for admittance into its colleges.