Dive Brief:

• The number of schools offering full-time virtual instruction grew between the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school year, along with the number of students enrolled in such schools, but outcomes were low, according to a new report from the National Education Policy Center.
• Ed Tech Magazine reports that the Virtual Schools Report 2016: Directory and Performance Review shows, between those two years, the number of students attending full-time virtual schools grew by 19,000 — or 8% — and the number of schools offering such instruction grew by 109 — or 32%.
• The portion of virtual schools that had on-time graduation data for 2013-14 claimed a four-year graduation rate of just 40.6% — down from prior years — and blended schools did even worse, at 37%, compared to the national average of 81%.

Dive Insight:

Full-time virtual schools allow students to complete their entire education online, while blended schools, of which there are far fewer, combine online instruction with face-to-face elements. Student-to-teacher ratios are higher in both types of schools than in traditional classrooms, and the NEPC report found for-profit education management organizations dominate the sector, with a growing portion of the market share.

K12 Inc is the largest virtual school provider with nearly 100,000 students out of a total virtual school enrollment of 262,000 nationwide. While the for-profit company has been embroiled in a number of lawsuits throughout the country, it claims its students’ relatively low outcomes can be attributed to the types of students it attracts — those who were initially failed by the traditional system.