Can Online Courses Help Struggling High School Students?

High schools students who fail a course after receiving classroom instruction certainly wouldn’t do any better taking an online class – or would they? Research from North Carolina State University shows students who retake courses online often do better due to the self-paced nature of the class, which also promotes the self-discipline necessary to succeed.

“It seems counter-intuitive, but we’ve heard from students participating in these repeat courses online that they appreciate the fact they have to manage their own time if they want to do well. They are also able to work at their own pace to master various concepts,” explains Dr. Kevin Oliver, assistant professor of instructional technology. “And, based on the 60 percent mastery rates achieved, it’s working for a majority of these students.”

NC State researchers were tasked by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to evaluate the online credit recovery program – designed for students who have recently failed the course or end-of-course test – offered by the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS.) Credit recovery courses are developed by certified classroom teachers with the support of a literacy coach and content specialist. Class sections are limited to 20 students to ensure the online teachers can engage one-on-one with students. Courses are self-paced, and allow students to work from home, school or both.

The NCVPS, which began offering courses in the summer of 2007, currently offers 12 credit recovery courses to struggling students, in subjects ranging from English to geometry to U.S. history. The credit recovery program has since enrolled more than 8,000 students from across the state – the majority of whom take the online courses during the summer.

Researchers asked students and teachers in the study to rank various credit recovery strategies in terms of how they would impact the effectiveness of the online courses. The most popular strategies involved having teachers monitoring students’ performance and helping the student set course goals – ranked most important by more than 70 percent of students and 88 percent of teachers. Less popular strategies involved some aspect of on-site instruction as a supplement to the online course, such as tutors in labs, peer tutors at school sites and hybrid/face-to-face course alternatives. These strategies were seen as more inconvenient by both students and teachers.

Going forward, NCVPS hopes to replace credit recovery courses with a “modular” learning program that will catch students who are struggling in the classroom before they need credit recovery. The modular program would break down particular concepts that students might be struggling with face-to-face so they can master them on their own time.

Oliver, who worked with NC State doctoral student Shaun Kellogg, will present the findings at the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting, held April 8-12 in New Orleans.

NC State’s Department of Curriculum, Instruction & Counselor Education is part of the university’s College of Education.

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