Title of Study: Final Report: A Comprehensive Assessment of Florida Virtual School

Author(s): Florida TaxWatch

Summary:

This report by an independent, non-partisan non-profit organization evaluated the efficacy of the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), a state-run online secondary school.  The report describes the history and the operating structure of the online school, compares student achievement in the virtual school with that of students in traditional schools and compares the cost of the two approaches to determine if online education is cost-effective. Opinions of students, parents and participating school districts are summarized from opinion surveys conducted by a different outside researcher.

Sponsoring entity(s): Florida TaxWatch Center for Educational Performance and Accountability with funding from AT&T and UCompass.

Date conducted: 2007

Location of the study: This study can be accessed through the International Association for K-12 Online Learning website.

Setting(s) addressed:

• Virtual classroom

Targeted population(s):

• High school
• Middle school

Primary sources of evidence used in the study or report:

• Student demographic data, grades and exam scores provided by FLVS and the Florida Department of Education
• Financial data provided by FLVS and the Florida Department of Education
• Opinion survey data provided by a different outside evaluator

Primary Technology Application(s) Addressed:

• Online education

Major education topic(s) addressed:

• Online education in all subject areas

Major findings/conclusions:

• FLVS students earned higher course grades in online courses compared with courses each student had taken in the same subject the year before at traditional schools.  They also outperformed students taking parallel courses at traditional schools in the same year.
  
  
• FLVS students rated their online courses at the same or higher difficulty than traditional classes, even though their grades were better.
  
  
• Florida Virtual School students in grades 6 through 10 scored more than 15 percentage points higher than their counterparts in traditional schools on both the reading and mathematics portions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
  
  
• FLVS students taking advanced placement courses earned higher scores than the state average on AP exams.
  
  
• Instruction through FLVS cost less than is typically spend for instruction in traditional schools.  Over four years the weighted student FTE for traditional classes ranged from 7% to 20% higher than online classes.

Practical implications of the findings:

• 76% of middle school enrollments were students who were home schooled, indicating that this is a population very interested in online learning options.
  
  
• The report found a significant correlation between the number of times a student logged into an online course and the final grade in the course.  However, there was an inverse correlation between the number of weeks a student took to complete a course and the final grade, suggesting that concentrated focus was required to succeed.
  
  
• Because Florida Virtual School only receives funding for students who successfully complete and pass a course, it has a unique financial incentive to promote student achievement.

Reviewer Comments:

• FLVS students take one or two courses online while enrolled at traditional schools.
  
  
• The population of FLVS has proportionally more white students and fewer African American and Hispanic students than the population at traditional schools in the state, but have a typical grade point average distribution.
  
  
• A large percentage of FLVS students withdrew before completing their courses each year, approximately 20% to 30% of middle school students and 30% to 40% of high school students, and withdrawal rates were proportionately higher for African American and Hispanic students than for other students.