A nearly 50 percent student attrition rate for Colorado’s online elementary and high schools is troubling in and of itself. Just as worrisome, however, are the financial implications of the exodus.
As education dollars grow ever more scarce in Colorado, the state is right to scrutinize issues being raised about online schools. However, we hope the scrutiny doesn’t morph into a plan to drive these valuable alternative education options out of existence.
Two recent news investigations of Colorado online schools, one conducted by The Denver Post and the other by the I-News Network, a consortium of news organizations, and its non-profit partner EdNews Colorado, raised serious concerns about the system. These schools, which get $100 million annually in taxpayer money, collect millions for students who change their minds about attending the institutions. While many of those students return to brick and mortar schools, the per-pupil funding stays with the online school for that year.
That leaves traditional schools scraping to find the money to educate those kids. And educators also report that those students are two to three months behind when they return.
“We’re bleeding money to a program that doesn’t work,” state Senate President Brandon Shaffer told reporters at I-News/EdNews.
Shaffer has asked for an emergency audit of online schools. We hope it will be geared toward increasing fairness in awarding per-pupil funding, so state money follows a child in a proportional manner.
Moving to an average daily count, which is supported by some online schools and used by many other states, is a model worth investigating. However, there are potential downsides, such as how schools that hire teachers for a year will fare financially if some students leave and funding goes with them.
It’s also clear there needs to be greater academic oversight. Data examined by I-News/EdNews showed test scores dropped when students went from traditional schools to online schools. Perhaps some drop can be attributed to the turbulence or conditions in students’ lives that culminated in their decision to move to an online school. Maybe some students never adjust to the solitude associated with online learning. Or maybe their needs are not being met.
That’s not something that should be left to assumption or open to question.
Despite serious questions being raised about the realities of Colorado’s online schools, we strongly believe they have a place in the constellation of education choices. They just need to be monitored in a way that serves children and provides reasonable assurances to Coloradans that their tax dollars are being used wisely.
