The News Service of Florida: TALLAHASSEE - A new study is sounding alarms at the quick expansion of virtual education programs in states like Florida, saying for-profit companies are pushing states to offer full-time virtual instruction paid for by state tax dollars with little research on the quality of these programs.
The study, written by two professors at the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and released Tuesday, highlights a number of emerging problems with the growth of online learning.

The study raises questions about the quality of virtual education, such as the lack of supervision, as well as the financial motivations of for-profit companies that have pushed state legislatures to expand virtual instruction.

"Private corporations, most of which are for-profit, have recognized a huge potential market in virtual schooling," wrote the study's authors, who urge states to more closely examine how much they pay for virtual instruction.

Florida has long been at the forefront of virtual education. There is the state-backed Florida Virtual School, which offers full-time and part-time virtual classes paid for by taxpayer dollars and each school district in the state is required to offer virtual classes, either through its own program, the Florida Virtual School, or private companies.

And this year, a new state law requires all public high school students to take an online course prior to graduation as well as allow charter schools to offer full-time "virtual" classes. 

Other states have also rapidly expanded their full-time virtual programs in a way that allows more private companies to compete, such as by allowing "virtual" charter schools. 

In 2010, the study says, 27 states offered full-time virtual schools, up from 20 states six years ago. 

A number of private companies have lobbied for this expansion, such as K12 Inc. and Educational Options Inc., which are approved by the Florida Department of Education to offer online courses in the state.

One Florida-based expert on virtual education has conducted studies of virtual education that show students don't perform worse on tests in online classes than in traditional courses. 

Cathy Cavanaugh, a University of Florida professor who studies virtual education, said one study comparing part-time virtual students with full-time virtual students showed the full-time students performed better.

Cavanaugh cautioned against reading too much into that Missouri-based study, saying it wasn't an apples to apples comparison. Part-time students had the added challenge of navigating two educational systems, she said.

In Florida, the biggest provider of online education in the state is the state-run Florida Virtual School. It is funded based on the number of successfully completed courses. Last year, it served 122,700 students. 

Though the survey suggested online instruction made it easier for students to cheat, a Florida Virtual School administrator said steps are taken to prevent students from taking credit for work that isn't theirs.

Polly Haldeman, the senior manager for district relations with Florida Virtual School, said the school runs essays and other written answers through TurnItIn.com, a service that compares how authentic a student's answer is. Instructors also check in monthly and can give oral pop quizzes, she said. 

"It is not all bubbling in the answers and writing out the problems," Haldeman said. "It is recording and taking pictures and a multiple of ways to demonstrate mastery of (the subject)."

The study focused primarily on concerns over private companies offering virtual education courses rather than state-backed providers such as Florida Virtual School. The study suggests states audit these private providers to determine how much money is required to offer online courses and whether the companies are being overpaid.

Cavanaugh said she shares the concerns raised about the rise of for-profit virtual education companies.

"It is a concern," Cavanaugh said. "I think we have learned that lesson through health care. There are different motivations when profit is brought into a public service."