Education Policy, Business and Technology

NEPC: Virtual Schools Aren't Working

THE Journal: A new study from the National Education Policy Center offers "overwhelming evidence" that virtual schools don't work. The research from NEPC found that these schools have high student-to-teacher ratios and are "excessively large." They also continue to underperform academically. However, those virtual schools operated by districts performed "far better" than charter-operated schools in performance ratings.

"Full-Time Virtual and Blended Schools: Enrollment, Student Characteristics, and Performance," the sixth such annual report, offered a detailed overview and inventory of full-time virtual schools and blended learning or hybrid schools. Virtual schools deliver all curriculum and instruction via online means, with students and teachers in remote locations; blended schools use a mix of traditional face-to-face time in the classroom and online instruction.

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