Iffy results for cyberschools
Wired has an article today on a report that looks at student performance in cyberschools, and find that most score below the average of regular schools. There can be a variety of reasons for this, of course, including the possibility that struggling students may make up a larger portion of the online learning population. In reading the article, however, it looks to me that the bigger issue is how poorly charter schools are being managed in some parts of the country. In many cases these schools appear to be run by enterprenuers who know little about education, but sense a a new and potentially lucrative market to target. (One person interviewed has already had one charter school shut down, but is opening a new cyber-school.)
The article is at www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,62662,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2.