The Oregonian published (4/3/09, see below for full text) an
editorial “Virtual schools, real questions” with the subtitle “Lawmakers should support
existing online charter schools while adopting a moratorium to resolve the
policy issues they raise.” This “go-it-slow approach” misses one central point: online or virtual educational programs
are a growth industry. They are an economic opportunity for Oregon, nationally
and internationally, not just an adaptation issue for our public educational
system, both K-12 and higher ed. Just as the digital revolution is reshaping entire industries, it will
reshape education. Oregon could be a leader and get some of the economic benefits. But
Oregon would need to be nimble and move fast to get a competitive advantage.
I’ve previously posted (here) some of my thoughts on online education's
impact on Oregon’s higher education. U. of California, Berkeley, Economic professor
blogged (here) on a Chronicle of Higher Education article titled “What Colleges
Should Learn from Newpapers’ Decline” (here, gated):
Newspapers are dying. Are universities next?... Both
industries are in the business of creating and communicating information... are
threatened by the way technology has made that easier than ever before.... Universities
have their own weak point, their own vulnerable cash cow: lower-division
undergraduate education. The math is pretty simple: Multiply an institution's
average net tuition (plus any state subsidies) by the number of students (say, 200)
in a freshman lecture course.... I don't care what kind of confiscatory
indirect-cost multiplier you care to add to that equation, the institution is
making a lot of money — which is then used to pay for... expensive things
that cost more than they bring in. As of today, there's no Craigslist busily
destroying the financial foundations of the modern university. Teaching is a
lot more complicated than advertising, and universities have the advantage of
sitting behind government-backed barriers to competition, in the form of
accreditation....
Oregon legislators clearly don't know what to make of virtual education, the
online charter schools that serve 4,000 kids in this state, and, by most
accounts, serve them well.
The Oregon Education Association, the state teachers union, is pushing a
bill in Salem that would cripple online charter schools. Meanwhile, K12 Inc.,
the private vendor that operates the largest of Oregon's virtual schools, is
lobbying for a competing bill that would encourage more online charter schools
in the state.
Neither approach, in our view, makes sense for Oregon right now. Lawmakers
and state education officials simply are not prepared to resolve the issues
raised by online charter schools. Instead, lawmakers ought to pass a bill that
places a one- or two-year moratorium on new or expanded virtual schools while
ensuring that the existing schools can continue to operate.
As it stands, Oregon has no well-informed policy on virtual
schools. The state's largest online school, the Oregon Connections Academy, is
run out of one of Oregon's smallest school districts, the Scio School District.
ORCA, as the online school is known, has more than 2,500 students. Scio itself
had 676 students at the state's last count. One of the questions a work group
must answer is whether it is appropriate for small districts to operate large,
statewide schools.
There are many other significant issues. Some are financial: Should full
state per-pupil funding follow students of virtual schools if there are no
associated costs for heat, busing, building maintenance or capital improvements?
Are virtual schools a way for home-schoolers to obtain a private education at
public expense?
Other questions are about accountability: What kind of financial and
academic transparency should Oregon demand of private vendors and other
entities operating online charter schools? How can the state fully assess the
rigor and quality of online schools?
Oregon isn't prepared to answer all those questions right now. What
lawmakers can clearly see, though, is that many families are prepared to
strongly defend existing online schools. One state survey of parents of online
charter schools found that 96 percent gave their schools an "A" or
"B" grade. The public school system would certainly love those kinds
of grades.
The bill pushed by the Oregon Education Association would require that 50
percent of the students of any online charter school live within the boundaries
of the sponsoring school district. That would kill the ORCA school -- only a
small percentage of its students live in the tiny Scio district -- and crimp
the entire online school movement in this state.
Oregon shouldn't do that. Virtual schools hold tremendous promise, and those
who are pioneering online learning in this state should be encouraged, not
driven away. It's clear that self-paced learning can effectively meet the needs
of both gifted students and students who need more time. To put it bluntly, a
state that sees a quarter or so of its students drop out from regular public
schools shouldn't be blithely eliminating alternatives.
Yet if the Oregon Education Association is wrong to try to shut down
existing virtual schools, it is not wrong to point out that this state has not
answered hard questions about money, equity and accountability raised by the
growth of online charter schools.
Lawmakers should keep the existing schools open and establish a work group
to draft a well-reasoned policy on online education. The times and the
technology keep moving forward. Oregon education policy needs to run and catch
up.
Comments