Investigating K-12 Online Education

Colorado lawmakers are directing auditors to map out how they would assess the state’s online K-12 schools. Democratic Senate President Brandon Shaffer is expressing concerns over student failure rates at the schools.

At a time when public schools are seeing deep cuts in funding, there’s a growing market for companies running online elementary, middle and high schools. The largest for-profit company overseeing these programs in Colorado is Virginia-based company K12 Inc. While public schools are struggling to survive, K12 Inc.—with the support of state tax dollars—is reporting double digit profits. Meantime, it’s not measuring up to state academic standards.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on 2010-04-21 on an older version of KUNC.org.

Online K-12 schools continue to be a popular choice for many students and parents in Colorado. But when it comes to holding one of education's fastest growing industries accountable, the state is lagging. KUNC's Grace Hood investigates.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on 2010-04-20 on an older version of KUNC.org.

The Colorado Department of Education says the 2009 Education Accountability Act will delay the its identification of the lowest performing K-12 cyber schools by four to five months.