Running head: INVESTIGATING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP AT A CYBER SCHOOL 1

Investigating the Achievement Gap at a Cyber School

Tiffany L. Pugliese
American College of Education
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Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School has a majority of students that are considered

economically disadvantaged at 57.5% (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2018). The

school is also an online virtual cyber school. Students take their classes online and they each

have their own learning coach, which is typically a guardian. Pennsylvania Virtual Charter

School is a charter school, meaning families made the choice for their student to be enrolled.

However, not all families are equipped or suitable for being learning coaches and do not

understand the responsibilities. For the older students, the coursework is often left up to them to

get through with minimum teacher interaction time through live classes. Students can get very

behind on coursework, and sometimes do not attend the live classes; so, it can be difficult for a

teacher to help or intervene. Families who are economically disadvantaged are either working

and have limited time to focus on their child’s education, or do not have the education

themselves to fulfill the role of a learning coach.

Student Group (Provide demographic data): At Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School,

57.5% of students are considered Economically Disadvantaged.

Achievement Gap (Use data to identify the gap): State achievement test results show

that a gap of 8% exists in English Language Arts between students at PA Virtual Charter

School in the 3rd- 8th grades that are considered “Historically Underperforming” and all

students. Compared to the state’s “All Students”, the gap is higher at 13.5%.

Trends Issues Evidence-Based Learning

Remediation/ Preferences

Accommodation

Practices
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From 2015-2018, Despite the gap Individualized sense-making

state achievement decreasing from instruction and activities, multiple

tests show a slight 9.4% to 8.3% from Response to representations,

reduction in the 2015 to 2018, it is Intervention: define collaborative

achievement gap not consistently a student’s problem; learning exercises,

between reducing each year. plan an intervention technology, hands-

economically In fact, the gap for the student; on activities, and

disadvantaged and increased from 2017 implement the blending concepts.

all students at (7.9%) to 2018. intervention, and (Travis & Vega,

Pennsylvania Overall, the school evaluate the 2011)

Virtual Charter is underperforming student’s progress

School, a reduction compared to the (Bender & Shores,

of about 1 state’s average as 2007)

percentage point. well.

The achievement gap is only slightly decreasing, from 2015 to 2018. However, looking at

each year individually it is much more inconsistent. Some years remaining the same, and even

increasing slightly. Overall the achievement gap is stagnant.

Our school recently changed teaching models so that the only classes we are holding now

are targeted English Language Arts ad Math sessions for students who are performing basic and

below basic. The idea behind this is that students who are proficient and advanced are already

getting the content from their learning coach and the materials online. Therefore, the teachers can

focus on interventions in addition to what the learning coach is doing at home with the students,
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for those that truly need it. Teachers are also required to make connection calls with each family

every month to check in and make those meaningful connections with both the student and the

learning coach(s).

Currently, my school is limited by the technology we need to use due to tracking student

data. We must conduct our classes using Blackboard Collaborate, which can be limiting. One

major limitation is that only six webcams can be used at once. I believe it is necessary to have

students be able to utilize their webcams, so teachers can get to know their students’ faces, as

well as to feel connected to peers. The academic advantages include incorporating movement,

utilizing actual whiteboards for students who have difficulties controlling a mouse, being able to

see if a student is completing the work on their own, and so forth. Salmani-Nodoushan (2008)

summarizes some of the other issues we face as a virtual school, “The opponents of K-12

education base their claims on such issues as the lack of eye contact between teacher and learner

and its side effects for educational outcomes, the difficulty of controlling cheating in

examinations, difficulty in identifying the real identity of students, and so on.” (p. 3).

However, despite the setbacks, one accommodation for all students in the cyber setting is

pacing. Learning coaches and students have the freedom to work through the curriculum at their

own pace, moving forward through content that is easier, and spending more time on more

difficult concepts. The live classes being held are all interventions and strengthening students’

current knowledge, rather than introducing new topics. As a school, we also implement Response

to Intervention (RTI). “The primary goal of RTI is to provide the interventions a struggling

student would need to become successful in the general education curriculum. If the

interventions are successful, that student would continue in the general education setting. If

interventions are not successful, the school district may decide to implement different
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interventions or may initiate a referral for special education eligibility testing.” (Martinez &

Young, 2011, p. 44).

Our students prefer one-on-one and small group setting with their learning coach and

small targeted sessions with the live classes with a certified teacher. Our students are most

engaged when they are able to use digital tools to videotape, draw, move manipulatives or audio

record themselves. They prefer when music and video is incorporated, as well as movement. A

study was conducted on the effectiveness of reform curricula and analyzed based on

demographics. “The characteristics that distinguish reform curricula from traditional curricula

usually include sense-making activities, multiple representations…collaborative learning

exercises, emphasis on using technology, hands-on activities, and blending concepts.” (Travis &

Vega, 2011, p. 10). The study found that students who are economically disadvantaged who

were reform- taught, outperform those traditionally taught.

Conclusion

The achievement gap may be smaller than other schools, and the state’s average in

general, however that does not mean there can’t be changes made to close the gap further.

Currently, Pennsylvania’s All Students average of performing proficient or advance outperforms

the students at Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School who are historically underperforming by

13.5%. (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2018). By implementing Universal Design for

Learning during interventions to engage, motivate and assess all students, Pennsylvania Virtual

Charter School would be able to reach all students and see an actual change in the achievement

gap, rather seeing it plateau.

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References

Bender, W.N., & Shores, C. (2007). Response to intervention: A practical guide for every

teacher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Martinez, R., & Young, A. (2011). Response to intervention: how is it practiced and perceived?

International Journal of Special Education, 26(1), 44–52. Retrieved from

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Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2018) Pennsylvania School Performance Profile.

Retrieved from http://www.paschoolperformance.org/Downloads.html

Travis, B. & Vega, T. (2011). An investigation of the effectiveness of reform mathematics

curricula analyzed by ethnicity, socio-economic status, and limited English proficiency.

Mathematics and Computer Education, 45(1), 10–16. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=eric&AN=EJ95419

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Salmani-Nodoushan, M. A. (2008). A critique of the brave new world of K-12. Journal on

School Educational Technology, 4(2), 1–6. Retrieved from

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