Report: Virtual K-12 enrollment to grow five-fold during the next three years. (Notebook).

Report: Virtual K-12 enrollment to grow five-fold during the next three years. (Notebook). The increased emphasis on individual student achievement and theemergence of Web-based instruction tools will boost virtual schoolenrollment, according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the authors of Virtual/Schools Across America:Trends in K-12 Online Education 2002, published by The Peak Group. The virtual school market is far from static: the 40 accredited accreditedrecognition by an appropriate authority that the performance of a particular institution has satisfied a prestated set of criteria.accredited herdscattle herds which have achieved a low level of reactors to, e.g. virtual schools profiled in the report that serve the K-12 audienceserve 85,500 students. That number will be five times as large in the2004-05 school year as enrollment swells to 520,000, the report says. Once the digital domain for advanced placement classes and remedialcourses, virtual schools are now providing not only supplementcoursework courseworkNounwork done by a student and assessed as part of an educational courseNoun 1. coursework - work assigned to and done by a student during a course of study; usually it is evaluated as part of the student's , but, in a small number of cases, core curriculum. TWO BASIC MODELS: SUPPLEMENTAL AND FULL SERVICE Close to 63 percentof the 40 leading virtual K-12 schools profiled provide supplementstudies; 37 percent provide the curricula to allow a student to earn ahigh school diploma A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED. entirely online. "We expected to see more fullcurricula than we did," says Lillian Kellogg, managing partner withPeak Group and co-author co��au��thoror co-au��thor ?n.A collaborating or joint author.tr.v. co��au��thored, co��au��thor��ing, co��au��thorsTo be a collaborating or joint author of: "He and a colleague . . . . Funding problems are the major growth impediment A disability or obstruction that prevents an individual from entering into a contract.Infancy, for example, is an impediment in making certain contracts. Impediments to marriage include such factors as consanguinity between the parties or an earlier marriage that is still valid. . Most money issuescenter around operating, administrative and marketing expenses, coursedevelopment, acquisition and hardware and software upgrades. Only aminority of states are labeled "virtual school friendly;"Florida and Illinois, for example, have flexible legislation that allowfor virtual school growth. Other states, including Wisconsin andPennsylvania, have legislation that allows for the creation of"virtual charter schools." Still, some states have pending legislation that put the future ofcharter schools in question. States are still sorting out the basis ofhow school districts will reimburse re��im��burse?tr.v. re��im��bursed, re��im��burs��ing, re��im��burs��es1. To repay (money spent); refund.2. To pay back or compensate (another party) for money spent or losses incurred. virtual and charter schools foreducating their students. Many virtual schools are for students at risk, or those who needmore flexibility in their educational choices, adds Kellogg. "Thereis much more acceptance at the high school level," says Politoski,Peak Group co-manager. "These students have the maturity andmotivation to complete studies online." Only a small percentage of virtual schools enroll out-of-statestudents, with Florida Virtual Schools Founded in 1997 by President and CEO Julie Young, the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is one of the largest online middle and high schools in the United States. It is the only public online school--and likely the first of any kind of public school--to be funded on a performance basis. (formerly known as Florida OnlineHigh School) leading the way. Kellogg labels this as the "mostprogressive program" and the one with the most recognition outsideits home state. The program has been aggressive in offering broadbasedcurricula that meets state standards and in licensing its courses toother state education systems. Other facts worth noting * Virtual schools based in the five largest states: California,Florida, Illinois, New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Texas--enroll 40 percent of the onlinestudents. * The average enrollment fee is $134 and the average course fee fora one-unit semester se��mes��ter?n.One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year.[German, from Latin (cursus) s course is $176. On average, programs are notcharging more to out-of-state students. * While online coursework is becoming more popular, educationofficials remain skeptical about online testing, especially given thatthe majority of courses are geared to high school students. Nearly allvirtual school programs require that final exams Noun 1. final exam - an examination administered at the end of an academic termfinal examination, finalexam, examination, test - a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge; "when the test was stolen the professor had to make a new set of and standardizedtesting A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] be provided "live" at the students' local schoolof enrollment, notes the report. * 75 percent of virtual school programs are delivered throughpurchased or licensed outside providers, according to the report Aboutone-third of the platforms were developed by the school system. * More than 80 percent of students use their own home computers tostudy online; some of the virtual schools provided did provide computersto students, but only on a temporary basis. * While the enrollment statistics are undisputed, the effectivenessof virtual education is open for study. "The concept of virtualschooling is still very new and relatively untested," say thereport's authors, who add that officials can only offer initialperspective on student retention and test scores. www.peakgroup.netVIRTUAL SCHOOLS TARGET AUDIENCE PERCENTAGES Current Courses 2-3 Years ProjectedHome School 75 85StudentsPre-School 0 22.5StudentsElementary 30 52.5School StudentsMiddle School 67.5 87.5StudentsHigh School 100 100Students