The Truth About Cyber Schools

The expansion of Cyber Schools is the result of a nationwide lobbying effort, marketed through the State Policy Network (SPN) and its state affiliates (including the Mackinac Center), using language written by the American Legislative Exchange Council.

 “[iNACOL president Susan Patrick] visited SPN state groups and gave pep talks about how to sell the issue to lawmakers.” How Online Learning Companies Bought America's Schools, , December 5, 2011 [iNACOL is the trade association for K12 Inc and Connections (who operate the two cyber charter schools) and other virtual education companies. Patrick spoke at the Mackinac Center sponsored Online Learning Revolution event at GVSU in November 2011.]

 “ALEC, … coordinates a fifty-state strategy for right-wing policy. Special task forces composed of corporate lobbyists and state lawmakers write “template” legislation …Since 2005, ALEC has offered a template law called ‘The Virtual Public Schools Act’. Mickey Revenaugh, an executive at … Connections Learning, co-chairs the education policy–writing department of ALEC.” How Online Learning Companies Bought America's Schools, The Nation, December 5, 2011

 “ campaigned vigorously in 2010 to expand such reforms … Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education is funded by online learning companies: K12 Inc., Pearson (which recently bought Connections Education), Apex Learning (a for- profit online education company launched by co-founder Paul Allen), Microsoft and McGraw-Hill Education among others.” [His foundation hosts the yearly National Summit on Education Reform:] “Throughout the day, lawmakers mingled with education-technology lobbyists from leading firms, like Apex Learning and K12 Inc. [The program included a session] called "Don't Let a Financial Crisis Go to Waste" How Online Learning Companies Bought America's Schools, The Nation, December 5, 2011

Expansion proceeds without evidence that they work

 “A recent study of virtual schools in Pennsylvania conducted by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University revealed that students in online schools performed significantly worse than their traditional counterparts. Another study, from the University of in December 2010, found that only 30 percent of virtual schools run by for-profit organizations met the minimum progress standards outlined by No Child Left Behind, compared with 54.9 percent of brick-and- mortar schools. For White Hat Management, the politically connected Ohio for-profit operating both traditional and virtual charter schools, the success rate under NCLB was a mere 2 percent, while for schools run by K12 Inc., it was 25 percent. A major review by the Education Department found that policy reforms embracing online courses ‘lack scientific evidence’ of their effectiveness.” How Online Learning Companies Bought America's Schools, The Nation, December 5, 2011

 “The report by the National Education Policy Center says 27% of for-profit companies operating virtual schools met the adequate yearly progress standards of the federal No Child Left Behind law. K12, Inc. operates … Michigan Virtual Charter Academy. Of the 39 virtual schools that K12 operates that received an AYP rating in 2010, 13 met the standards. Connections Academy, based in Baltimore, operates the … Michigan Connections Academy. Nationwide, 27% of its virtual charters met the standards.” Virtual Schools lag other public schools’ performance, The Detroit Free Press, January 18, 2012

 “A Stanford University group, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, tracked students in eight virtual schools in Pennsylvania …comparing them with similar students in regular schools. The study found that ‘in every subgroup, with significant effects, cyber charter performance is lower.’” Profits and Questions at Online Schools, , December 12, 2011

 “An analysis by the Carroll County Public School District in Virginia shows that the 400 students in the virtual program there performed worse than the regular students in 19 of 26 categories on the state assessment test.” Profits and Questions at Online Schools, The New York Times, December 12, 2011

Military recruiters refuse virtual school graduates

 “Students graduating from the growing ranks of online high schools are running into a hurdle if their goal is to join the military: The Pentagon doesn't want many recruits with non-traditional diplomas. Those who've opted out of the traditional educational system just don't stick with military service, she said. That includes students from what she called ‘any computer-based, virtual-learning program.’" Cyber- school students: DoD snubs our service, The Navy Times, May 9, 2011

Contractors for Michigan’s two cyber charters, K12 Inc. and Connections, have generated controversy

 “K12 Inc. … was founded … by William Bennett, the Republican writer and talk-show host, with an infusion of cash from the former disgraced junk-bond king Mike Milken.[ (In 2005, Bennett resigned from K12 after making controversial remarks about blacks and abortion that he said were taken out of context.] Its teachers generally work from their homes, communicating with their students by e-mail or phone. (At one point in , essays of students attending an online academy run by K12 were outsourced to India for correction.” Virtually Educated, Gail Collins, New York Times, December 2, 2011

 “One of the industry’s most persuasive promotional tools has been the young children who show up en masse at hearings to support online-school legislation… One of the organizers of such turnouts has been the Pennsylvania Families for Public Cyber Schools. Records show that the group, which gets money both from K12 and Connections Education, has spent about $250,000 on lobbying in the past five years.” Profits and Questions at Online Schools, The New York Times, December 12, 2011

 “Former State Representative Stephen Dyer became suspicious when members of the benignly named organization My School, My Choice paraded through his northeastern Ohio district carrying signs attacking him: “Why Won’t Rep. Stephen Dyer let parents choose the best education for their kids?” The protest was prompted by questions Mr. Dyer had raised over the state’s financing formula for charter and online schools. The group describes itself as a coalition of parents, teachers and employees of the schools. But Mr. Dyer said that his wife questioned the people carrying the signs and found out they were paid temp agency workers.” Profits and Questions at Online Schools, The New York Times, December 12, 2011

K12 Inc. recruits unsuited students, causing high turnover

 “…a portrait emerges of a company that tries to squeeze profits from public school dollars by raising enrollment, increasing teacher workload and lowering standards. [P]roblems begin with intense recruitment efforts that fail to filter out students who are not suited for the program, which requires strong parental commitment and self- motivated students. Online schools typically are characterized by high rates of withdrawal. Profits and Questions at Online Schools, The New York Times, December 12, 2011

 “The constant cycle of enrollment and withdrawal, called the churn rate, appears to be a problem at many schools. Records [at K12 school Agora in] Pennsylvania reveal that 2,688 students withdrew during the 2009-10 school year… Enrollment at the end of the year [was] 4,890.” Profits and Questions at Online Schools, The New York Times, December 12, 2011

 “’Some of the cyber charter schools have fairly aggressive recruitment campaigns,’ said Jim Buckheit, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators. ‘They have vans, billboards, TV and radio ads. They set up recruitment meetings in area hotels and invite parents to come.’” Profits and Questions at Online Schools, The New York Times, December 12, 2011

Teacher/Student ratio climbs with enrollment

 “[A]n elementary teacher, Jessica Long…challenged school figures showing its student-to-teacher ratio is 49 to 1. ‘I know on the elementary level we have anywhere from 70 to 100,’ Ms. Long said. “I don’t know anyone who has 50 students…At Agora, enrollment has reached 8,836, up from 6,323 in May…. As of late November, the total number of staff members — 408 — was lower than last year.” Profits and Questions at Online Schools, The New York Times, December 12, 2011

Corporations eager to exploit the market, but Wall Street doubts the investment

 “… just a year ago News Corp. announced its intention to enter the for-profit K-12 education industry, which Rupert Murdoch called "a $500 billion sector in the US alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed." How Online Learning Companies Bought America's Schools, The Nation, December 5, 2011

 “’I've never seen it like this in ten years,’ remarked Ron Packard, CEO of … K12 Inc. ‘It's almost like someone flipped a switch overnight and so many states now are considering…allowing us to open private virtual schools’ How Online Learning Companies Bought America's Schools, The Nation, December 5, 2011

 “Despite its rapid revenues and earnings growth, cash flow issues and societal pressures make me skeptical of K-12's performance over the next 1-2 years.” Is K-12 Inc. The Future Of Education? Here's Why I'm Skeptical, Morningstar.com, Nicholas Pardini, November 30, 2011

 “[Just as for-profit college] degrees lack any significant value in the private sector job market, K-12, Inc. faces the same problem with its [diploma’s] credibility to the admission departments of major universities. K-12 lacks a substantial track record of placing its students in prestigious universities. Until K-12 has successive classes of college placement on par with top public schools, ambitious and diligent parents / students will not allow their child (or choose to attend themselves) to opt out of traditional school.” Is K-12 Inc. The Future Of Education? Here's Why I'm Skeptical, Morningstar.com, Nicholas Pardini, November 30, 2011

 “Based on the schooling experience of both myself and younger family members, online classes are still largely regarded as an easy way out of regular classes. The primary reason this stigma remains is that there is no way to prevent cheating. I would not recommend buying here and would short if the stock breaks above $30 again.” Is K- 12 Inc. The Future Of Education? Here's Why I'm Skeptical, Morningstar.com, Nicholas Pardini, November 30, 2011

State Board says cyber charter schools too new to expand

 “State Board of Education members say they don't want the cap on so-called cyber charter schools lifted until the two existing schools can be studied and there are guarantees the schools follow the same rules as brick and mortar programs.” State Board of Education says cap on cyber charters should be lifted only after review of existing schools, conditions, The Grand Rapids Press, December 7, 2011