by Mark Harden

While the explosion in online college education has received a lot of attention, a new state report says that enrollment in high-school and even elementary-school courses offered over the Internet is also growing rapidly in Colorado.

Enrollment in online courses offered by Colorado schools is up 12.5 percent in the 2009-2010 school year from the previous term, the Colorado Department of Education reports. There were 13,093 Colorado K-12 students enrolled in online programs for the 2009-2010 term as of October 2009, versus 11,641 as of October 2008.

Several Colorado K-12 school districts offer online course programs, usually in multi-district partnerships. The report lists 25 separate Internet programs statewide.

Most of the programs serve high school students, although Littleton Public Schools offers "LPS@Home" to elementary students, according to the report from CDE's Unit of Online Learning.

By far the largest online programs in Colorado in terms of enrollment are Northglenn-based Colorado Virtual Academy, with 4,333 students enrolled at the start of the 2009-2010 school year; and Douglas County-based Hope Online Learning Academy Co-op, with 2,846 students in 2009-2010.

Some programs target "at risk" students who are not succeeding in a classroom setting; others offer courses for advanced students that aren't available in their local districts. The report said 87 percent of online students come from districts other than those that sponsored their online program.

But online K-12 education in Colorado is feeling growing pains, the report indicates, with a "very high" dropout rate. Enrollment in multi-district online programs fell 10.6 percent over the course of the 2008-2009 school year, from 11,029 in October 2008 to 9,859 by the end of the term, CDE said.

At the Brighton-based Colorado Distance and Electronic Learning Academy, the 2008-2009 dropout rate for online programs was 57 percent, while at Julesburg-based Insight School of Colorado, it was 47 percent, the report said.

In some cases, the report said students enroll in online courses expecting they'll be easier than traditional classroom instruction, only to find that's generally not the case.

Also, average scores on the state's student-asssessment (CSAP) tests are lower at Colorado online programs than for bricks-and-mortar schools, the report said.

But there are a number of signs that online programs are improving their performance, CDE reported.

At Las Animas County-based Branson School Online and Arapahoe County-based Colorado Connections Academy, the percentage of students rate "proficient" or "advanced" on CSAP reading tests in 2009 exceeded the statewide rate; Branson also bested the state rate on CSAP writing and science tests in 2009.

“Students in Colorado continue to see the value of online learning,” Pam Ice, CDE’s online support director, said in a statement. “The 2008-2009 school year brought improvements in student success in many of Colorado’s online programs. Graduation rates and completion rates increased, more programs employ guidance counselors and credentialed staff for special education and English-language learners. These efforts are paying off for the programs.”

 http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/01/25/daily88.html