Apex Learning Online Instruction, 2013-2014. Research Educational Program Report
Author: Houston Independent School District (HISD), Department of Research and Accountability
Date: 2015-06-25
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Online Courses,Electronic Learning,Access to Education,Secondary School Students,Required Courses,Credits,Repetition,Academic Achievement,Graduation Rate,Test Preparation,Standardized Tests,Advanced Placement,Scores,At Risk Students,Demography,Student Characteristics,Readiness,Test Results

Apex Learning is the largest provider of secondary online curriculum in Houston Independent School District (HISD). Introduced in January 2010 through Graduation Laboratories (Grad Labs) located at each high school, the program has grown from providing seniors with opportunities to recover credits required for graduation to providing students in grades 6-12 with options for completing both recovery and original credit courses in grades 6-12. This report continues the documentation that was begun at the inception of the program in 2010 and includes usage, academic performance, and graduation rates associated with students who completed Apex Learning courses in 2013-2014. It also addresses the completion of online test preparation courses offered by Apex Learning and other providers at schools that elect to fund the services to support students who need to retake state-mandated tests. Finally, this report provides information about online Advanced Placement (AP) course usage and, when sufficient numbers are available, student performance on the associated AP exams compared with the performance of all other students who took the same AP tests in the district. Highlights in the report include: (1) In 2013-2014, 12,356 Apex Learning courses were completed by 6,600 students in grades 7-12 at 50 HISD secondary schools. Apex Learning courses comprised 78 percent of all online courses completed by HISD students that year; (2) Ninety-four (94) percent of Apex Learning courses and 92 percent of courses through other online providers resulted in students receiving credit toward graduation; (3) The majority (59 percent) of Apex Learning courses were completed for original credit, and 40 percent were completed for credit recovery; (4) Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) re-testers who took a 2013-2014 Apex Learning course in the content tested had significantly higher rates of meeting the TAKS passing standard than did re-testers who did not take an Apex Learning course in the content of the test; (5) On the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness/End of Course (STAAR/EOC) exams, students who had taken a 2013-2014 Apex Learning course in the content of the exam had significantly higher rates of achieving a satisfactory rating in all subjects except U.S. History than did all students who did not take an online course in the content of the test that year; and (6) Twenty-eight (28) percent of students who graduated in 2013-2014 had taken an Apex Learning course the same year. Higher rates of Apex Learning graduates earned a diploma through the minimum and IEP programs and lower rates earned their diplomas through the recommended program than did all other HISD graduates.