Dive Summary:
- Atlanta’s school system is looking to online education as one way to help lift its 51% high school graduation rate.
- Students in a summer pilot program for those who failed classes the previous school year are expected to spend about 20 hours a week with the class online.
- About 100 high school students took part; 43% earned passing grades, which the district considers a win.
From the article:
... Across the country, the number of students learning online is rapidly growing, but research into the effectiveness of such classes is limited, said Tracy Gray, a managing director for the American Institutes for Research. “Technology is like putting a piano in the room and expecting everybody to be (Frederic) Chopin,” Gray said. “Unless teachers know how to use the technology and the students have the necessary support they need to master the course content, then it can only go so far.” ...
