The state Board of Education is tightening the screws on cyber-schools that critics say have been fleecing the state by collecting money but delivering sub-par education to an ever-increasing base of students who get their instructions online rather than in a classroom.
According to an AP article in December, more than 14,000 Colorado K-12 students are expected to be taught online this year. Private companies that run these cyber-schools—some of which are for-profit—recruit students as young as kindergarten age and they receive the same per-pupil rate from the state as traditional schools that teach kids face-to-face; Colorado is expected to spend about $85 million this year teaching kids online.
But a 2010 Board of Education report shows much of this money is spent with little oversight or accountability, making state officials wonder if taxpayers are getting what they’re paying for. According to the AP, the Board of Education found that test scores for online students are below average, dropout rates can be as high as 50 percent and—in one instance—the student-to-teacher ratio was as high as 317 to 1. Online schools are paid by the state for the entire school year, even if a student drops out after registration enrollment is tallied on Oct. 1.
For the rest of the article, go to Online schools to get more state oversight
