Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: An Annual Review of State-Level Policy and Practice, 2009
Author: Watson, John
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Schools,Elementary Secondary Education,State Schools,Enrollment,Supplementary Education,Access to Education,Barriers,State Policy,Educational Policy,Reports,Charter Schools,Colleges,Institutional Characteristics,Online Courses,Educational Quality,Academic Standards,Data,Educational Innovation,Student Characteristics,Science Instruction,Secondary School Science,Science Laboratories,Educational Finance,Financial Support,Profiles

&quot;Keeping Pace&quot; has several goals. First, it strives to add to the body of knowledge about online education policy and practice and make recommendations for advances. Second, it serves as a reference source for information about programs and policies across the country, both for policymakers and practitioners who are new to online education and for those who have extensive experience in the field. Third, because there has been so much online education activity in the past year, the report attempts to capture new activity. A Definitions section immediately precedes the body of text. Because there are many terms in online learning without commonly understood definitions, this section defines the key terms used in this report. The National snapshot and the year in review captures a picture of the state of online learning in 2009 and provides a short summary of some key developments over the past year. Key issues in online learning presents a more in-depth summary of the information and data within the state policy profiles and the online program profiles. This section contains most of the analysis within the report; it provides more depth than the national snapshot without the raw data in the profiles sections. For Notes from the field the authors invited researchers and practitioners to contribute short articles on specific subjects that in most cases were not major areas of focus for &quot;Keeping Pace&quot;. The resulting articles raise several key issues that are not discussed in depth elsewhere in the report. The Outlook and conclusion looks to the future and explores the role of online learning within the context of educational reform and other changes that are occurring across public schools. Following the sections listed above are two sections that provide much of the data on which the summaries and conclusions are based. The Program profiles describe a subset of the programs that responded to the &quot;Keeping Pace&quot; program survey, divided by program type. For each program type common attributes are discussed, and exceptions to the common attributes are noted. The State policy profiles contain online learning profiles of all fifty states, divided into four geographic regions. Most state profiles include footnotes that reference state laws, state policies, and websites of programs. However, in some cases, the information is general and was gathered through numerous website reviews and phone interviews with state agencies; in these cases footnotes are not included. The primary purpose of footnotes is to provide the source documents that will be most valuable to readers. Methodology is appended. (Contains 6 figures, 6 tables, and 265 footnotes.)  For &quot;Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning: A Review of State-Level Policy and Practice, 2008,&quot; see ED535908.]