Pennsylvania just approved the operation of four new cyber-charter schools, bringing the number of online charter schools in the state to 17.
This is literally unbelievable.
We constantly hear lectures from “reformers” about data-driven decision-making and focusing only on results.
They like to say “it’s for the children.” “Children first.” “Students first.”
The existing cyber-charters in Pennsylvania have been evaluated and found to have disastrous results. The data say they are failures.
Of 105,000 charter students in the state, 32,000 are in cyber-charters. Here is the State Education Department release about its decision.
Citing the Stanford CREDO study of cyber-charters in Pennsylvania, the Keystone State Education Coalition writes:
“In an April 2011 study (PDF), the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University reviewed the academic performance in Pennsylvania’s charter schools. Virtual-school operators have been aggressively expanding in the state for more than a decade, making it a good place for a study; around 18,700 of the state’s 61,770 charter school students were enrolled in online schools. The results weren’t promising.
The virtual-school students started out with higher test scores than their counterparts in regular charters. But according to the study, they ended up with learning gains that were “significantly worse” than kids in traditional charters and public schools. Says CREDO research manager Devora Davis, “What we can say right now is that whatever they’re doing in Pennsylvania is definitely not working and should not be replicated.”
Further, of 12 cyber-charters, only 2 made AYP. Eight were in “corrective action status.”
Would “reformers” please spare us the empty rhetoric about “it’s for the children”?
And would they stop prattling about “data-driven decision making?”
When we see what is happening in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and other “reform” states, anyone can see that “the children” will certainly not be the beneficiaries of these decisions. The data are clear. It’s all about the profits.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I could not agree more. It would be interesting to see the company doing these charter schools and how much money it is making off the loss of education from these students. Does anyone know the company involved in the new virtual schools or are there multiple companies?
You would think that data worshippers would, um, collect or analyze some actual data before implementing all of this folderol.
I do not know much about this type of charter. Are the kids just sitting around in cubicles looking at computer screens or are they at home? Do they have teachers? Who would send their kids to this type of charter or do they even have a choice?
The only reason the President and Duncan decided to go around Congress and waive AYP right away is so that the cyber-charters and many brick & mortar charters — which don’t do as well as traditional public schools by and large — won’t be penalized for poor performance.
It’s not just that the rhetoric is empty; it’s that we are living in the midst of a propaganda war that has elicited the support of our politicians at the federal and state levels, Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
No matter how many times research shows outcomes to be worse, politicians and wealthy supporters still believe in making a big buck off of our public schools.
Public be damned.
The children enrolled in cyber charters sit at home with a computer. Their parent(s) is/are their learning “coaches.” A teacher somewhere monitors scores of screens. The teacher gets an hourly or weekly wage, has no job security, no benefits. Most such teachers are right out of college.
Well then I wouldn’t even call them teachers, would you?
They are cyber monitors….this should just be outsourced to Mumbai and then they can save even more money.
This has to be the new low…but probably not. Sickenin!
It will probably get to Mumbai eventually, with a teacher named Denise who speaks with an Indian accent, works 18 hours a day and does customer service for the phone company when she does not have students.
That is where education in this country is headed. Why do you think Bill Gates is so heavily involved in “reform”? Ask yourself how he made his fortune in the first place.
Mosaica has virtual schools in place in India based on what their website claims. Already creating the pipeline.
I heard most were retired teachers. Right out of college that is bad. Retired that is very good.
Diane: Are the children using any kind of textbook, or is everything they are supposed to learn on the computer? Does the software the children are running conform to the state’s curriculum? What if the student doesn’t understand what the software is trying to teach? What if the parent doesn’t understand it either? Do they ask the teacher monitor then? Maybe “chat” to the monitors to ask their questions?How good and accurate is the software that teachs them? I presume the software assesses them as they progress. How does it grade English essays or math algorithms that do not conform to what the software expects? If the student does poorly on the assessments, does the software get canned?
Our students use textbooks. Our teachers design the lessons based on the state standards. Our teachers are online all day every school day. We have live virtual classroom sessions. We also frequently speak with students on the phone and through text message. It’s not as bound by the technology as you would think.
Hi – I’m actually a teacher at a cyber charter in PA. I am certified, and I do receive a comparable salary and benefits. I create all of my own lessons and grade all of the assignments students submit for my English class. Our teaching staff is very diverse; while many of our students are younger, many others have taught for years at public brick-and-mortars. While SOME of the cybers do use pre-packaged curriculum, and provide teachers who serve more like tutors, that’s not the case with all cybers. Please do your research before you make such sweeping generalizations.
I couldn’t agree with you more. My sons have attended PA Leadership Charter School, whose teachers have been nothing short of amazing. They come from varied backgrounds and bring a wealth of real-life experience to their classrooms. Because the teachers work from a school building, not their homes, more experienced teachers are there to support newer teachers and the younger teachers add enthusiasm and technology experience to the group — a perfect blend ! My children could not receive a better education anywhere.
This certainly is not true of the cyberschool my sons attend. While they do work on a computer, they also read textbooks, are involved in physical activities, and they know their teachers (all working out of a building in Pennsylvania) better than many students who are in a classroom each day. They attend on-line classes where they interact with their teacher and their peers. I have access to all of their school work to see what they are doing so, yes, in that sense I am their learning “coach.” However, I don’t do their work — I would never be able to help with the AP Biology, AP Calculus, and other advanced courses that my son has been able to take. Thankfully, his teachers were there for him.
Check your facts – I work for a cyber school, and our teachers are paid normal salaries, have benefits, retirement funds, are not all right out of college, contracts, and don’t “monitor scores of screens.” Our teachers are in our building, and spend the day teaching lessons using a web cam, talking on the phone with students and families, writing lessons, grading student work, interacting with the students, etc.
Our teachers ARE teaching. Our teachers are Pennsylvania certified, many are award winning. Nothing is outsourced even out of the state, much less the country.
If you are going to comment about cyber schools, please don’t just spew negativity. Not all cyber schools are the same, or operate the same, nor all they out to steal money from the state or shuffle kids along a conveyor belt of mediocrity in education.
I have checked my facts. The cybercharters are cash cows that produce millions in profits for their operators and deliver an inferior product. The attrition rate for these so-called schools is about 50% a year. The kids leave and the school keeps the taxpayers’ money. A win-win for the sponsors, a lose-lose for the children. Here are some facts you should familiarize yourself with: https://dianeravitch.net/2012/04/27/cybercharters-grow-despite-evidence/
1. NOT all cybercharters are for-profit or use curriculum purchased from a for-profit like K12.
2. We do not have “sponsors.”
3. We do not have millions in profits – we don’t even have surplus funds.
4. Our graduation rates are between 82%-87%. And that is AMAZING considering that many students of ours come to us mid-year and are behind because their brick-and-mortar school didn’t educate them, and our teachers have to work extra hard to educate that student and get them to where they should be….where they’d NEVER have gotten at their previous brick-and-mortar.
5. We get kids that come to us mid year, as I said, and even thought the brick-and-mortar had been educating them for 80% of the school year, if they enroll with us before state testing takes place, those students take their tests with us, and their scores count toward OUR school even though we hadn’t even had a chance to educate or catch them up. So we take the school districts unhappy families, and fold them in to our school even though it might lower our AYP standing.
It’s not so unbelievable if, as in OH, the principal operator of the cyber charters (David Brennan) is a mega-contributor to the Republican party. It’s pay-back and all about the money, as you say. The results for these cyber efforts here are a disaster too but profits continue to roll in.
And Ohio is a “battleground state” for the election. Wonder why?
Well, the Republican side of the coin we call politics controls the voting machine’s code. 2004 results were sent to a computer in Kentucky before being sent to the Secretary of State’s computer. Mike Connell the central figure in the episode was “Wellstoned” before he could testify. See: http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/12-mysterious-death-of-mike-connell%E2%80%94karl-roves-election-thief/
Given the American Academy of Pediatrics commentary on screen time for young children, it would seem that cyber academies for elementary grades especially would have a high bar to cross to prove that they’re not actively harmful.
Oh well, guess that’s too inconvenient.
The figure that shocked me most is that the parents of 32,000 Pennsylvania children would choose to have them “educated” this way.
Your family gets a free computer out of it.
That is not a shocking number at all, if you consider that not all students come from the same income levels as you. Many students come from areas with school districts that are plagued by drug problems, violence, apathetic teachers, poverty, etc. This population of children – wonderful children who deserve better than to be afraid of going to school or who want a way to escape their situation – is high in many parts of Pennsylvania.
Aside from those below the poverty line, there are also students and families who have been let down by their school’s administration in terms of keeping their students safe and cared for (like schools not taking parent concerns of bullying seriously, or allowing a student and her rapist to still be in the same class, just as 2 examples, among other circumstances). Kids with attention issues, hyperactivity, alternate passions like acting and sports that doesn’t fit in with a typical school day, kids who have divorced parents in separate areas, special education students, gifted students…the list goes on and on of the students that cyber school is right for.
It is not right for every student, or every family. However, for those that it IS right for – what a blessing.
It is surely a blessing for the operators, who rake in millions
Not so much for the kids.
Oh, wait, I forgot: “It’s for the children.”
In response to Diane, below – I work for a non-profit cyber school in Pennsylvania. There are no millions going around. Stop being closed minded and a know-it-all, because you are nearly as uninformed as most of your other closed-minded commenters.
Did you hear the news about the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School? I posted on it earlier today. It rakes in $100 million a year. Did you hear about the Ohio cyber charters? Two corporations have collected nearly $1 billion since they opened in 1999. But I guess that’s not big money these days.
A blessing for the sponsors who get rich. Not a blessing for the children.
Yes, of course I heard about PA Cyber, and they are a completely different school than other cyber charters, yet you lump them all in together as if they operate the same way. Not all schools use outside agencies for running the curriculum and student system. Attacking ALL cyber charters in the name of the ones that don’t work hurts schools the good schools too. Do you condemn all businesses who do the same profession because some are shown to be bad? Some bankers are shady – do you stop using banks at all, or do you look for another bank that you believe in?
While I can see cyberschool as being good for some students, particularly some with Aspergers and high functioning autism, medical problems that require a specialized environment, students who are working professionals, such as actors and some Olympic athletes, and those whose parents travel a great deal, migrant workers and those at the secondary level in extremely rural places, like Alaska and Montana, to catch up on missed classes or graduate early, and some who are so gifted that even the gifted programs cannot keep up with them, there is just so much more to school than formal learning that the kids are being shortchanged. Every homeschooler I have met has been academically advanced and socially deficient. I am also concerned that conservative extremists are using these programs to prevent their children from being exposed to diversity and that we will end up with a lot of very bright young adults who want to take over the world for the far right.
Although a particular family in Atlanta was not likely to take over anything, there was a redneck family who had pulled their middle school child out of school because they did not want her going to school with black children. Admittedly her zoned middle school was absolutely awful, but they could have taken her to another one. They supposedly were homeschooling her but the parents of this family, actually an aunt and uncle, were a holiness preacher with a church that might have handled serpents, we were not sure, but there were rumors, and a woman who was getting a slow check (mental retardation) and was so bigoted that she folded her arms and sneered when the black and Hispanic clients came into our food bank. The girl seemed oblivious to her auntie’s bigotry, however as she and an openly gay, black youth, about 11 at the time, were interns at the church day camp for the Hispanic ministry and clearly friends.
If these schools are not working, then they need to be de-chartered. However, this will require some accountablity and data driven proof of the programs not working. Standardized end-of-course tests, which seem to be slowly replacing norm referenced testing would work and probably be more palatable than the high stakes tests. They would simply be administered on the computer as part of the coursework. I think the key is getting some government officials in who will force accountability on the charters. At the moment there does not seem to be any. I think it is time and past time for some serious changes in who runs the government in states that are pushing charters. Even the money grubbers have to respond to government accountability if it means their profits.
Also, there needs to be controls on homeschoolers period, with regular checks on the well being of the children by DFCS and parenting/ tutoring classes required, since there have been cases where kids have been pulled out of school so their parents could abuse them in private, and visits by certified teachers to observe progress. In Georgia the original rule was that a parent could only homeschool if they had a college degree. However, some were able to get around this by having a person with a college degree sign a form saying that they were supervising the homeschooling. This is what happened with the girl mentioned above.
One other concern would be if the students are actually doing the work. Are the cyber classes live and synchronous or do the students simply do what they are told and send the projects by email? What kind of security do these programs require, if any?
You raise an important point about cheating by parents. How would the kids be monitored to make sure it was the kids who were doing the work? I just think there should be no distance learning for K-12, certainly not full-time, and not especially for young children.
I think having a quality online program available – a nonprofit based program – is a good thing, especially for grades 6-12. I know some students who would do well with an option like that and some who most assuredly would not. But, there’s no question that there are many kids being pulled into these programs who are not making adequate progress with it.
I had a student tell me he wasn’t worried about failing his online spanish class because he could just pay someone to take the class for him.
Cheating is not inherent to cyberschools alone. Many students in traditional schools cheat all of the time. What is stopping a parent from doing their child’s homework?
Bottom line- no matter what type of school setting, cheaters will be cheaters. Parents who really care about their child’s education would never cheat for them.
It is easier to cheat if no one knows who is answering the questions. But that’s not the worst rap against cyber schools.
#1 Most are for-profit, and that’s outrageous waster of tax dollars that should be spent on children and their teachers.
#2 Their test scores are abysmal.
#3 Their graduation rates are horrible.
#4 Their attrition rates are high.
#5 Their executives have outrageous compensation with tax dollars ($5 million for the CEO of K12).
Are you OK with all that?
“Standardized end-of-course tests, which seem to be slowly replacing norm referenced testing would work and probably be more palatable than the high stakes tests.” All standardized tests are “norm referenced” in the sense that all the questions are “tested” for their ability to sort and separate students. There is no “criterion” referenced standardized test. That’s one of the lies.
As the mom of a teenager with high-functioning autism, I can tell you that you are absolutely wrong that cyberschool would be good for children on the spectrum. What they need most of all is to strengthen their social skills and you certainly can’t do that sitting all by yourself in front of a computer screen.
I’ve taught quite a few students with autism and asperger’s – many of these students succeed because they are in a safe, comfortable environment. They are also able to participate in many on-site activities we provide for students.
its time to wake ourselves up from this night mare
Education isn’t just about the academics, people. There are also important social skills that are imparted in traditional schools. Virtual schools for K-12 violate every concept in child development. They are an abomination and need to be outlawed for K-12.
Socialization of children doesn’t just happen in a brick-and-mortar school. Kids learn socialization through interaction with kids at the park, on sports teams, band practice, etc…all things that cyber school kids can still take part in.
Sometimes the kind of socialization that’s happening at a brick-and-mortar is the kind that hurts kids inside, like bullying, excessive teasing, other kids being nasty, etc.
That is so sad.
Financially desperate school districts are basically divesting in education for the poor.
Someone is cashing in on this and it certainly is not the children or their families, although here in Ohio it is advertised that the family will receive a computer and online access “free”( or rather paid for by the already strapped for money taxpayers). If it does not make sense it seems to be the option being promoted by clueless ( or maybe bribed) government officials.
In reference to online courses being good for children of migrant workers, I would think that it might often be difficult for them to find access to wi-fi. Also, many rural areas do not have the internet capabilities. Children, like adults, need to interact with real people and real teachers in real time.
This is the old programmed learning “Skinner box” learning theory that has never worked and never will. All this madness creates is more money for the promoters and producers of this “snake-oil” government promotion.
This is absolutely appalling! What about physical education classes (remember: America’s “war” on obesity, as spearheaded by–Michelle Obama!!!)? What about art & music? What about recess? What about lunch? (&–for that matter–breakfast–?) Isn’t this the very population that would most “need” (& I say this w/sarcasm) the charter school to replace the “bad” public school? Who is monitoring what goes on in homes?
WHAT, in fact, is going on in homes? This is pure & unadulterated child abuse!
Call your local Dept. of Child & Family Services.
In Florida, we already have online physical education classes.
I teach at a cyber school. We offer all of those elective courses! Our teachers are creative and do their best to equip students with everything they need in order to successfully participate in these VERY IMPORTANT elective courses!
The results of cyber schools are consistent. They get terrible results. The graduation rates are low, the test scores are low, the annual attrition rates are high. I’m glad you enjoy your work.
http://atthechalkface.com/2012/07/11/in-indiana-istep-scores-announced-who-will-be-the-winners-and-losers-2/
… cyber schools (which Bennett pushed despite abysmal track records), …
Sweeping generalizations abound here.
I teach in one of these “failing” cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania. We are one of the few in Pennsylvania that are NOT run by a for-profit company. Our teachers are neither all retired nor right out of college. We have a nice mix of teachers of all ages and professional experience. I taught in brick-and-mortar for 8 years before moving to online. We are not treated poorly, we are not paid minimum wage, and we are definitely not just monitoring test scores. Our school is a lively, engaging online environment with standards-based, challenging lessons with authentic assessments. Our teaching is constantly monitored and being updated based on real data from our classes. Students do have access to all traditional classes – yes, even phys ed, art, music (even instrumental lessons). Those who say that this is an abomination, or the one that really made me laugh – child abuse – know nothing about what this type of education can provide, or who needs it.
We get students from all socio-economic backgrounds, from all over the state. They come to us for many, many different reasons. We do have a number of students with IEPs. It works well for some, but not all. This type of education is definitely not for everyone. But for a percentage of students who live in, say, in a city with a horrible school district, or for those who get relentlessly bullied every day, or those who are too ill to go to school, or who travel with their parents, or who have children of their own – it works. (The family doesn’t get a free computer, incidentally. The student gets a computer to use during their time here; it only allows them to do schoolwork. Email, social networking, and anything that is not related to their studies is blocked. It is certainly not a reason to enroll here.)
And now – as to why so many are failing. Let’s look first at what the measuring stick is. It’s AYP status. Is that truly the only way you want to label whether or not a school is working? A single, standardized test?
As for our school, we get lots of kids coming to us from failing districts. We are expected to make up for years of non-education or poor education in a single year and get the students to proficient on the state assessment. We do everything in our power to get the kids there, and we make some improvements each year, but not enough to make the state’s cutoff for being designated as making AYP.
Parting thoughts, to sum up: online education is not evil; it has its place in education reform, but it is not THE answer. For-profit companies should have nothing to do with any public educational institution, and should not be involved in cyber education. That is the truly scary thought. Standardized testing should not be the only means by which schools are judged. The educational system in the United States is broken, and needs a complete overhaul. So many students are disenfranchised in education. It is a disgrace what is happening to our students in this country.
I’d rather not label any school by AYP. I think it is a stupid measure. But public schools, community schools, across America are being closed by this stupid measure. I certainly agree with you that for-profit schools should not be allowed. I think there is a lot to be said for online courses (like the school that has no physics teacher). As a rule, however, I oppose the idea of kids getting their full education at home on a computer. That should be a rare event, for special circumstances. As for failing kids, they need a hand to hold, and a loving eye, and a should to cry on, not a computer screen.
The online industry has been taken over by profiteers, unfortunately, and their bottom line is profit, not children.
Failing kids do need a shoulder to cry on. I know that it doesn’t sound possible, but we do give them that. They didn’t get it in their home districts, and many of them don’t get it at home. Our teachers and support staff do give it to our kids, at least. We have thousands of success stories. But I understand that it’s not the case with all online education. I just know it can work. I’ve lived it, and seen it happen.
I mentioned in a comment above about the capabilities of internet access to rural areas. At the time I could not find a story giving an example of this in Louisiana and I knew there was one. Today, Tom Aswell who writes a wonderful blog, Louisiana Voice, about the innards of Louisiana politics wrote one in reference to this topic.
He writes: The project, which LouisianaVoice learned was opposed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), would have created 900 miles of cable over 21 rural parishes in Louisiana and would have supported several Louisiana universities with expanded optical fiber networking capacity.
The fine Gov. Jindal would not sign on to a grant of $80.6 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) to provide high speed broadband internet to rural areas of Louisiana.
Now, however, in the Louisiana Believes education plan one of the goals, among others, is for all schools to be digital-ready by 2014-2015.
[…] all of them run out of Philadelphia. Education guru Diane Ravitch wrote yesterday: “This is unbelievable,” and it’s hard not to agree. At a very cursory glance, the folks running these new […]
I was force to cyber school my Autistic kids after the SEVENTH time an agency reported his SIXTH teacher for abuse– all in six different schools by the time he was in the second grade. (Please note: This was not me being ‘crazy’. This was me receiving notices that the bus driver, the therapist, his doctor, and so on witnessed these incidents while at school. I only pointed the finger once, when he came home with scars– which he still has 4 years later.) We went a large Pennsylvania based cyber school. It’s been a nightmare. There is no support. We usually are reassigned to a new teacher two or three times a year and each time, I’m faced with a bunch of questions that make me wonder: 1) How are these people educated/ prepared for this job? 2) Do they not realize this is a business and I can take my school district’s $20k+ FUNDS to another cyber school? 3) Is this their first ‘real’ job? 4) How does anyone, especially a ‘teacher’ get so much time off?
But, what is never a question, is whether or not they care about my son’s education. They clearly don’t. They never check on anything or contact us. We are, without a doubt, just a paycheck from our school district to them.
I need a cyber school now, so I’m glad they exist, but oh my, are these cyber schools milking the system! I can’t say my experience with brick and mortar or cyber schools has been positive. I’m even in an affluent, rural community with a Blue Ribbon School and it’s a nightmare. And no, I didn’t care about the ‘free computer’. It has so many issues that we just use either my desk top or my son’s personal laptop to complete his schooling.
Are you all kidding me??!!! So judgemental! I am a mother of 3! My husband and I pay taxes! All of our families pay taxes! I dont know where all of you are from or what kind of schools your city provides, but we are from Philadelphia, Pa. My youngest child, my 7 year old son, is in full day special education class and is currently enrolled in a school district of Philadelphia neighborhood school. He has been bullied, teased, hit, pushed to the ground, had his snack taken on a DAILY basis, and the last incident, which is the worst of all and our last n final draw, was his teacher man handling and verbally abusing his special needs students and finally leaving purple finger mark bruises on both of my son’s upper arms! You are on here bashing teachers, schools, and the parents for sending them! U dont know what anyone else’s reasons are! U have not walked in any of those men and women’s shoes, so why are u commenting such cruel and judgemental accusations and assumptions so quickly and carelessly? You should be ashamed of yourselves! God didn’t make you to be judge, jury and to portray yourselves to be these better than thou types!!! To each their own and for everyone else to mind theirs! You do what u feel is best for ur child and I damn sure am going to do what is best and safest for mine! Oh n fyi I am going to be my son’s “coach” and I guarantee he will reach his best potential while I am!
You are absolutely clueless!!!! Cyber-school rocks and is the best choice for many families and frankly none of your business. If you want to allow your kids to be bullied (or the bully – both are horrible) at public school go right ahead. As for me I will be involved in and care about my child’s education!