As teachers complete the courses and their work is posted in the database, parents will be able to access it all, complete with the teachers' names and comments posted by fellow teachers. This could allow parents to better evaluate the work of individual teachers, and enable parents to see how other teachers teach the same subject matter. The data base will have a search engine that will allow parents to find all completed course work on a particular subject, say lesson plans on how to teach fifth-graders about volcanoes. Pa. Parents who home-school their children may find the resource invaluable, he added. The online courses will be free to Pennsylvania teachers, and free for parents to review the completed course work.
Online testing is nothing new.
Online testing of teachers is, said Toth. Many colleges offer online educational courses, many of which are merely a high-tech version of correspondence courses. The school received applications from about 350 students from 54 school districts in 17 Pennsylvania counties. Under a state formula, school districts pay tuition for each student who attends the charter school. That program provides two certified professionals for every 50 students.