Distance Education Courses in Public School Districts: 2009-10

Ω

According to a new NCES report, during the 2009-10 school year, 55 percent of school districts reported having students enrolled in distance education courses. Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2009–10, a First Look from the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), provides national data about enrollment in distance education courses, how districts monitor these courses, the motivations for providing distance education, and the technologies used for delivering distance education. Other findings include:

• Of the 55 percent of school districts reported having students enrolled in distance education courses, 96 percent of districts reported having students enrolled in distance education courses at the high school level, 19 percent at the middle or junior high school level, 6 percent at the elementary school level, and 4 percent in combined or ungraded schools.

• Districts reported an estimated 1.8 million enrollments in distance education courses for 2009–10. Seventy-four percent of the distance education enrollments were in high schools, 9 percent were in middle or junior high schools, and 4 percent were in elementary schools.

• Twenty-two percent of districts with students enrolled in distance education courses reported that students enrolled in regular high school programs could take a full course load in an academic term using only distance education courses, while 12 percent reported that students could fulfill all high school graduation requirements using only distance education courses.