Survey Finds Interest in Blend of Traditional and Online Courses

Online education is likely to continue to grow in popularity in the years ahead, and schools are expected to take an especially strong interest in “blended” courses that combine computerized lessons with traditional classroom instruction, a nationwide survey suggests.

Sixty-three percent of the public school administrators who responded to the survey, set for release March 5 by the Sloan Consortium, say their schools are offering some kind of online learning. An additional 20 percent said they plan to begin such classes during the next three years, according to the report, “K-12 Online Learning: A Survey of U.S. School District Administrators.”

Financed by the New York City-based Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the consortium, with headquarters in Needham, Mass., seeks to promote high-quality online learning. Administrators in 366 public school districts nationwide, representing an estimated student population of 2 million, responded, either in handwritten form...