National education standards unmet...time to try something else?

It's an all too familiar story, folks.

National standards for public education are not being met. Meanwhile, the rest of the civilized world is passing us by in math and science. Yawn!

How many of these headlines must we endure before something of concrete substance takes place?

Take today's article in the New York Times:

A new federal study shows that nearly a third of the states lowered their academic proficiency standards in recent years, a step that helps schools stay ahead of sanctions under the No Child Left Behind law. But lowering standards also confuses parents about how children’s achievement compares with those in other states and countries.

The study, released Thursday, was the first by the federal Department of Education’s research arm to use a statistical comparison between federal and state tests to analyze whether states had changed their testing standards.


It found that 15 states lowered their proficiency standards in fourth- or eighth-grade reading or math from 2005 to 2007. Three states, Maine, Oklahoma and Wyoming, lowered standards in both subjects at both grade levels, the study said.

One asks the proverbial question...okay, now what? Maybe the answer lies in viable alternatives. Online education.


Folks, this is home schooling on steroids.

Recently, a family in the Silverado Ranch area gave me unique access to a demonstration of their children's online curriculum. They participate in the "k12" program (on the web at http://www.k12.com). Aligned to state standards, their children participate in a daily core curriculum of subjects, all completely online. k12 even sends parents the computers for their children to use. Students participate at their own pace. Promotion to the next level doesn't occur until complete mastery of the subject takes place. And results, this family told me, are quite noticeable.


An op-ed in the R-J last month touts the benefits of online education. Written by Gary Waters, the executive director of the Beacon Academy of Nevada, students of all levels can be served (and helped) by this method, he said.


Waters:

Online schooling, once thought of as new-wave and experimental, is now an accredited and widely accepted education option for students across the nation. Contrary to the old conventional wisdom, online schools are now recognized as offering challenging classes, advanced academic opportunities and dynamic social interactions -- both in and out of the classroom -- for a rapidly growing number of students.

A recent Department of Education study assessing the academic track record of students in online education sheds some light on the issue. Students completing some or all of their courses online performed better academically than peers in a traditional classroom. These students scored, on average, in the 59th percentile while the average brick-and-mortar student scored in the 50th percentile.


The study cited the ability of the online classroom to individually tailor education to meet each student's needs. Students have the flexibility to learn at their own pace, taking more time on subjects they find more difficult, or advancing rapidly to more challenging material. May educational leaders throughout the United States predict that by the year 2015, 50 percent of all instruction in public education will be offered online -- and some courses and educational content will be exclusively offered over the Web.


Also contrary to popular perceptions, a recent study from The Center for Research in Education Policy at the University of Memphis found that these social implications are far from negative. In fact, the study found that students enrolled in full-time online public schools demonstrated social skills that were superior to or substantially similar to those of students enrolled in traditional public schools. The study found that students were highly engaged in social activities, both inside and outside the classroom. Consequently, fears about the lack of socialization and social skill building in students who access online instruction appears increasingly unfounded. 

Because we have been unsuccessful in emulating what other countries do (and I'm going out on a limb to say this--especially since I'm a former public school teacher), maybe it is time to look at what is working.


E.C. :)