1. Kevin Oliver, Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology
Spring 2009 Evaluation Highlights: North Carolina Virtual Public School
Kevin Oliver, Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology
NC State University

2. Background
Friday Institute has received annual contracts from DPI to assist with the evaluation of the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS)
recurring surveys of stakeholder groups (i.e., students, teachers, distance learning advisors, and high school principals) (Sum 07, 09; Spring 08, 09)
also, focused studies of NCVPS pilot initiatives:
efforts to design and develop course modules for elementary-middle school
student success course to transition 8th graders

3. Spring 2009 Surveys
questions about student learning, barriers to success, teacher preparation and quality, advisor preparation and quality, curriculum and teaching quality, and leadership support
similar questions to spring '08, allowing for comparison of cohorts
spring 2009 response rates:

4. Are Students Successful in NCVPS Courses?
more than 75% of students, teachers, and advisors agreed or strongly agreed that students were succeeding in NCVPS courses
AP teachers were the most likely to agree students were succeeding at 100% while only 55.6% of credit recovery teachers reported the same

5. Are Students Learning More Online Compared to Face-to-Face?
when asked if students were learning less or learning more online, compared to similar face-to-face courses, 43% of teachers reported students were learning more online
significant increase from < 25% in 2008

6. Are Students Gaining Tangential Skills from Participation in NCVPS Courses?
97% of students agreed courses taught them learning and innovation skills (e.g., creativity, critical thinking, problem solving)
significant increase from 88% in 2008
92% of students agreed courses taught them technology literacy skills using such tools as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Web development software, audio/video editors, photo editors
significant increase from 87% in 2008

7. Are Students Gaining Tangential Skills from Participation in NCVPS Courses?
79% of students agreed courses taught them information literacy skills (e.g., online research skills)
significant increase from 68% in 2008
nearly two-thirds of students and more than three-fourths of teachers and advisors agreed that NCVPS courses were supporting student attainment of five of the seven 21st century skill areas (exceptions: civic literacy, global understanding)

8. Are Stakeholders Satisfied with Curriculum Quality?
95.2% of teachers agreed course content was sufficiently rigorous
significant increase from 90.6% in 2008
92.9% of teachers agreed course assignments were sufficiently rigorous
significant increase from 88.4% in 2008
90.9% of teachers agreed that they provided differentiated content and assignments
significant increase from 79% in 2008

9. Are Stakeholders Satisfied with Curriculum Quality?
88% of teachers agreed they leveraged 21st century tools such as wikis, blogs, and podcasts in their courses
significant increase from 54% in 2008

10. Are Stakeholders Satisfied with the Availability of Courses Offered by NCVPS?
only 10% of students reported problems getting into courses they wanted to take
only 11% of students reported NCVPS was not offering the courses they needed to take

11. Are Stakeholders Satisfied with Teaching Quality?
76% of students and 81% of advisors agreed that teachers were appropriately prepared to teach an online course
100% of teachers agreed that they participated in NCVPS professional development in the past year
50.2% of students agreed that teachers posted their own audio-visual presentations to explain content; such elaborations were requested by many students in written comments

12. Are Stakeholders Satisfied with Advising Quality?
26.6% of students agreed that a lack of distance learning advisor support was a barrier to taking NCVPS courses
85.3% of teachers agreed it was a barrier for at least some students

13. Are Stakeholders Satisfied with Advising Quality?
DLA role is only full-time for 27% of advisors (typically media coordinators or counselors)
advisors report four time-consuming tasks: marketing courses, registering students, monitoring student grades, and counseling students to stay on task
some comment it can be difficult to manage regular job role and advising role simultaneously (mean of 73 advisees per advisor)

14. Do Stakeholders Encounter Technical Barriers When Using NCVPS Courses?
41% of students agreed that technical problems affected their experiences taking online courses
significant decrease from 52% in 2008
52% of teachers agreed that technical problems affected their experiences teaching online courses
significant decrease from 77% in 2008

15. Do Stakeholders Encounter Technical Barriers When Using NCVPS Courses?
credit recovery students were significantly more likely to agree at 27.7% that a lack of technical expertise was a barrier to taking NCVPS courses compared to the three other course levels between 11-17%
some credit recovery students may require more technical support than students at other course levels

16. Do Stakeholders Encounter Infrastructure Barriers When Taking NCVPS Courses?
more than 80% of students indicated they had appropriate access to computers and the Internet to take NCVPS courses, so adequate infrastructure appears to be available to most students
school-based computers are the primary source of access for more than 47% of students; only 34% primarily use home-owned computers

17. Do Stakeholders Encounter Infrastructure Barriers When Taking NCVPS Courses?
26.3% of credit recovery students agreed that a lack of access to computers at school was a barrier--significantly more than students at other course levels (general, honors, AP)
credit recovery students were significantly more likely than students at other levels to report Internet connectivity as a barrier to using NCVPS courses, both at school (27.1%) and in the home (30.3%)

18. Are School and LEA Administrators Strong Advocates for NCVPS?
only about one-half of students and teachers agreed that school-level and LEA administration were enthusiastic and supportive of online course opportunities
more than 88% of principals surveyed indicated they were enthusiastic about offering online course opportunities to students (n = 47)

19. Do Stakeholders Personally Advocate for NCVPS?
percent who agree/strongly agree they would recommend more students take NCVPS courses

20. Subject Area Close-Up: Foreign Language
significantly fewer foreign language students agreed they were successful in NCVPS courses at 68.3%
significantly fewer foreign language students agreed they were learning more online compared to face-to-face at 18.9%
significantly fewer foreign language students agreed that their courses supported the seven 21st century skill areas

21. Subject Area Close-Up: Foreign Language
significantly fewer foreign language students agreed that their teachers were adequately prepared at 71.7%
significantly fewer foreign language students agreed with a number of teacher quality variables (e.g., differentiation, using 21st century tools, encouraging study strategies)

22. Subject Area Close-Up: Math
significantly fewer math students would recommend more students take NCVPS courses at 47.5%
significantly fewer math students agreed that their courses supported the seven 21st century skill areas
significantly fewer math students agreed with a number of teacher quality variables (e.g., differentiation, using 21st century tools, encouraging study strategies)

23. Subject Area Close-Ups: Discussion
follow-up summer survey inquiring into subject area discrepancies
English/Language Arts courses among the most highly rated
could be problematic teaching foreign languages and math online, supporting synchronous dialogue and teachers visually working out problems
OR, students may just like these subjects less overall
results might be the same if we compared foreign language and math to other subjects in face-to-face environments