Virtual Education Seen Lacking Accountability

Research on effectiveness called for

Although virtual schools continue to grow each year, more research and accountability are needed to foster and support effective full-time online educational environments, says a report from the National School Boards Association.

"We want to harness all the benefits of technology to really propel student learning, ... but at the same time, we find the lack of really good information about results and accountability really troubling," said Patte Barth, a co-author of the report and the director of the NSBA's Center for Public Education, which provides data and research for school board members and other educators. She spoke in a conference call tied to the release of the report this month.

Full-time online schools have gained 50,000 more students in the past year alone, bringing the total number of students taking part in such virtual learning environments up to 250,000, according to the report , "Searching for the...