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Schools vary in AP exams
November 20, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment
NORTHERN HILLS — The South Dakota Department of Education recently announced that South Dakota students are making significant gains on Advanced Placement (AP) exams taken in high school for college course credit, with 2,841 South Dakota students taking at least one AP exam during the 2010-2011 school year, an increase of more than 27 percent in five years’ time.
“Locally, we’ve shifted from a focus on AP to a focus on the Rising Scholar program,” said Lead-Deadwood secondary principal Nick Gottlob. “With 10 enrolled in AP classes and 31 enrolled in the Rising Scholar program, I have 41 kids pursuing classes above the twelfth grade level. Out of a high school enrollment of 260, I’m very happy about that.”
Gottlob said the larger discussion in his district is whether or not to continue offering AP-level classes onsite with onsite instructors, while the same and greatly varied coursework is available online through the South Dakota Virtual School at no cost to the district or to the student, with the student earning a $100 bonus for completing online coursework.
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South Dakota Virtual School
September 6, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment
The South Dakota Virtual School is an online clearinghouse of tuition-free distance courses offered by approved providers. All course offerings and providers are approved by the South Dakota Department of Education. The goal of the Virtual School is to provide choice, flexibility and quality for all students across the state. South Dakota Virtual is not a diploma granting institution.
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Virtual Schools, E-Learning, Sweep The States
August 8, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment
The number of online high schools across the country continues to grow with virtual schools now operating in 12 states and five other states working on similar projects, according to Education Week’s annual School Technology Report.
The editors of the fifth edition of Technology Counts 2002: E-Defining Education, praised the growth in online classrooms, but warned that the quality of such programs must be monitored.
“E-learning is poking holes in the walls of the traditional American classroom and giving students unprecedented access to challenging course and academic material,” says Virginia B. Edwards, the editor and publisher of Education Week. “But there are still problems and unanswered questions about this way of teaching and learning. And one of the chief concerns is ensuring the quality of online courses.”
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