Idaho online schools struggle to get young students reading at grade level, data from the spring Idaho Reading Indicator shows.
On average, 56% of online students in grades K-3 read at grade level, far below the statewide rate of nearly 71%.
There is one exception — 86% of Gem Prep Online students read at grade level this spring. No other online school broke 60%.
Online school providers say the unfamiliar format of the IRI exam, limited direct instruction, and self-selection in the student population contribute to the low scores.
At Gem Prep Online, Principal Heather McKenna attributes the school’s high scores to required daily live lessons, limited ability to work ahead, and a college focus, among other factors.
Virtual student struggles
Overall, students in virtual schools struggle when it comes to reading.
Eight of Idaho’s 11 online schools with available scores showed a decrease in proficiency from fall to spring, a trend that goes against in-person school norms. Typically, student reading scores drop in the fall after a summer vacation. But after a school year of consistent instruction, scores are expected to increase in the spring.
Online schools typically have fewer students, making a decrease in proficiency in just one or two students more noticeable.
Boundary County Online, Hagerman Virtual School, and Nampa Online all have less than 35 students who took the exam this spring. There are five additional online schools that offer grades K-3 but have such a small student population that their data is redacted from the IRI scores to avoid identifying individual students.
The largest virtual school is Idaho Home Learning Academy which had 3,351 students take the exam.
Jen Goostrey, founder of Overture, a company paid by school districts to manage their online schools, said part of the issue is online schools don’t teach to the test in the same way a traditional school might.
“One of the big things is we have a target on our back. Everyone is looking at testing scores and trying to say that online schools, their scores aren’t what brick and mortars are,” Goostrey said. “They’re teaching to the test.”
Overture manages the Bear Lake, Snake River, Sugar-Salem, Bonneville and Boundary County online schools. Teachers at the online schools are hired directly by their home district then use Overture’s platform to provide lessons and communicate with families.
The schools offer optional live daily lessons but much of the students’ educational journey is charted by their parents. Families receive funds to purchase additional curriculum from Overture.
Goostrey said that she believes an observational assessment is the best way to judge a student’s proficiency. Online students are typically less familiar with the IRI platform and standardized testing in general, she said. This can lead to students struggling to click on answers quickly enough or be confused by the platform or formatting. She is hopeful that the IRI revamp focused on reading fluency will help.
Students at the online schools often take the test in person in a total unfamiliar environment that can make them nervous, she added.
“Are we really assessing kids? Do we really know what they know?” Goostrey said.
Students and families who choose an online program often struggled in a traditional school setting anyway, she added. It can also be more difficult to notice and document accommodations that may come naturally at home but in a traditional school setting would require documentation and additional support, like an individualized educational plan (IEP).
“At test time, we catch a lot of that stuff,” Goostrey said.
Still, Goostrey hopes to focus on phonics among other skills next year. Many families Overture serves, Goostrey said, were homeschooling before but wanted more support and additional resources.
“These are kids that if this didn’t exist they would just be doing it on their own,” Goostrey said. “I think for a lot of families the things that we’re able to provide through the system are valuable and that these kids are doing better than they would without.”
Gem Prep Online outperforms state average
Students continue to improve at Gem Prep Online.
The virtual charter school at a growth of three percentage points from fall to spring with 86% of students reading at grade level.
“I really think it just comes down to what Gem Prep is centered around,” said Principal Heather McKenna.
The school requires a parent or guardian to be home to support their student.
“I feel so strongly about having that parent support,” McKenna said. “They need adult supervision.”
The parental involvement can limit who enrolls, McKenna acknowledged, but Gem Prep is working on solutions like their learning societies in Payette and Emmett where students can do virtual lessons in person under the supervision of a teacher.
Currently, 33% of students in grades K-3 at the online school receive free and reduced lunch. Last year, the school served 85 students in those grades.
The school requires a 45 to 50 minute daily live lesson, Monday through Thursday, with small group and one on ones set for Friday to cover areas where students may struggle. Students are required to have their cameras on and expected to actively participate.
Kids still do popcorn reading with teachers listening for places where students stumble, she said.
The school also only posts one weeks worth of content at a time, limiting students’ ability to work ahead but increasing teachers’ ability to reteach and adjust lessons based on student progress.
Despite the requirement to be online daily, McKenna said the program still offers the flexibility expected from a virtual school with videos and lessons that can be completed any time during the week.
Gem Prep is a college preparatory program, McKenna noted. Students use the online platform that pairs with the IRI and are frequently assessed.
“They need to know how to take tests,” McKenna said.
Teachers discuss the exam with the students frequently, emphasizing the importance of knowing where students are at as a part of improving.
“We call it the score board and we look at it as game day,” McKenna said of test scores. “We really try to pump our scholars up, we really just want to grow. It’s just like real life we need them to know where they’re at and where they’re going.”
This story was written by Emma Epperly of Idaho Education News.