Question

Build claims and arguments based off this question: Should high-school students be required to take online classes before graduation? First, create three claims you could make in response to the question--one of fact, one of value, and one of policy. Then choose one of those claims to take through the From Claim to Draft process. In  500 words.please type

Answer 1

Online classes for high school students are a great way for you to:

1. Get ahead
If your high school will give you credit, you can get ahead in high school by taking the required courses online at your own pace. Or, you could get college credit for many online courses (the ones offered by colleges) and this will help you start out ahead when you get to college. Be very aware that your GPA in an online college class counts toward your total college GPA, so be sure to do your very best.

2. Review material to strengthen your skills
Perhaps you did alright in Algebra II, but being able to go over the material again, with a teacher and at your own pace, might just help you out. This is a great scenario for an online course. You could learn material you may not have fully grasped the first time, strengthen material you sort of understood, and truly master concepts you nailed originally. These are all great. Think about this for Latin or World History…the list goes on. There are so many subjects you could study and master!

3. Prepare for college
By taking an online course during high school, you are doing extra preparation to be ready for college level work. Maybe your writing skills need strengthening, or your spelling, or maybe your knowledge of Biology. If you have an idea of your weaknesses, and some idea of what you’d like to major in, you can bolster your weaknesses so that you can really succeed when you get to college. I think many students could benefit from an extra round of Chemistry, PreCalculus, or Chinese.

4. Redo or replace a course or grade
If your high school will give you credit, you can often replace a course or grade where you did not do your best. Maybe you or a family member became ill, or maybe your family moved and you ended up right in the middle of the toughest US History class of your life. Whatever happened, you can talk with your school counselor and see if he or she might recommend an online course as a way for you to learn that material. You always want to master the material from one year before you move on to the next because concepts build on one another and so a strong academic foundation will serve you in all future classes and for the rest of your life.

5. Explore subjects that are not currently available to you
Maybe your high school doesn’t offer a course in Applied Physics or Calligraphy or Marketing, but you could explore these interests online! There are so many fascinating subjects that you can learn about, and an online class is a great way to explore new topics and see where your academic interests really lie.

6. Get a taste of college curriculum
Jumping into an entirely new living situation, class structure and sometimes location can be tough. Taking online classes can make the transition a bit easier by giving you an idea of what to expect class-wise when you get to college. You will have a better idea of what the work-load, teaching style and expectations will be like and so will have set yourself up to succeed.

More than a million K-12 students take online classes, studying everything from Chinese to AP English. Now, Virginia students will be required to complete at least one virtual course.

A new law signed last week by Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell will require all students starting high school after fall 2013 to take at least one online class in order to earn a diploma.

But nobody has specified how virtual classes will contribute toward that goal. The law also doesn't give any guidance on which online course providers are eligible, and the state doesn't intend to provide school districts a dime to help them implement the requirement. That could cause already cash-strapped districts to strike deals with lower-cost, less-reputable online course operators.

Of course, there are plenty of existing concerns about the effectiveness and quality of K-12 virtual learning. No peer-reviewed long-term academic research indicates that virtual K-12 courses can lead to similar student achievement results as traditional in-person education, and some evidence shows that online learning actually hurts students. Colorado, for example, spent $100 million on virtual high schools last year even though half of students end up quitting and going back traditional schools because the quality of education was so low.

And it's far easier for students to cheat in online courses—sometimes with the assistance of their teachers. Last year, faculty at Denver North High School admitted that students who had failed regular math and English classes were allowed to cheat when they retook online versions of the courses. Passing the class only required passing a single test, so the students began taking the exam over and over again to figure out the answers. Students were also allowed to to use the internet to look up answers to questions. The staff overseeing the lab let the cheating happen because the school's reputation was tied to the number of students who passed the class.  

While that may seem like an extreme example of online classes gone wrong, high schools everywhere are under extreme pressure to boost graduation rates, so it's not hard to picture similar scenarios happening elsewhere. Online learning has plenty of potential, but rushing into programs without thinking critically about the pros and cons risks turning the high school experience into a virtual diploma mill.