Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2019, a three-part research brief released today by the National Education Policy Center, examines the claim that online curriculum can be tailored to individual students more effectively than curriculum in traditional classrooms.

Proponents contend that this potential for individualization allows virtual schools to promote greater student achievement than can be realized in traditional brick-and-mortar schools. NEPC researchers found, however, that the research evidence does not support this claim. Yet the lack of research support has done little to dampen policymakers’ enthusiasm, perhaps because virtual schools are marketed as promising lower operating costs—primarily via cutbacks in instructional personnel and facilities.

Section I of the brief, Full-Time Virtual and Blended Schools: Enrollment, Student Characteristics, and Performance, provides straightforward analyses of the characteristics and performance of full-time, publicly funded K-12 virtual schools. The data reveal that full-time virtual and blended learning schools continue to perform poorly.

Section II, What Virtual and Blended Education Research Reveals, points to a serious shortfall in the scholarly research. It reviews the relevant available studies related to virtual school practices and finds that much of this is atheoretical, methodologically questionable, contextually limited, and overgeneralized. As a result, the available research is of little value in guiding policy.

Section III, Key Policy Issues in Virtual Schools: Finance and Governance, Instructional Quality, and Teacher Quality, provides an overview of recent state legislative efforts to craft policy regarding virtual schools. As in past years, bills to increase oversight of virtual schools continue to be introduced. Some legislative actions have been prompted by state audits and legal challenges, as exemplified by recent virtual school controversies in California and Ohio. As such, the bills have been aimed at addressing accountability and governance structures, as well as curbing the operation of for-profit virtual schools. However, there is little evidence that legislative actions are being informed by available research on the performance of virtual schools.

The authors recommend that policymakers hit the pause button on further virtual school expansion until we understand how to address the poor performance of these schools.

第一部分结论：纯在线教育以及混合型教育学校招生、生源质量、教学表现依然很差。

第二部分结论：面向纯在线教育以及混合型教育学校的研究严重匮乏，很多研究存在理论、方法、背景上的问题，过于宽泛。现存研究对指导政策的制定缺乏价值。

第三部分结论应为：虚拟学校（在线教育）存在的主要政策问题：财政与管理、教学质量和教师质量，概述了最近国家在虚拟学校政策立法上的努力。最近制定的法案旨在解决问责制和管理结构问题，并遏制营利性虚拟学校的运作。然而，几乎没有任何证据表明，关于虚拟学校绩效的研究成果被运用到立法当中。

原文链接：https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/virtual-schools-annual-2019