Shoddy stats? Horry teachers dispute failure rate used to recommend axing virtual school
Teachers for Horry County Schools’ virtual program were left surprised and frustrated this week after the district announced its recommendation to shut the program down due to the reportedly high failure rate of its students.
About 42% of all virtual students were failing at least one class, according to a district presentation, including 59% of high school students and 46% of seniors, leading the school board to mull over the possibility of dissolving the program altogether. More than 2,000 students are currently enrolled in HCS Virtual.
Some teachers disputed the figures, noting the percentages presented Monday to the board’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee were pulled on Dec. 6, while the semester didn’t end until Jan. 13.
Premature data?
Cyndi Teeguarden, who teaches high school students at HCS Virtual, told The Sun News that high schoolers in particular often wait until the last day possible to hand in work. Only about 13% of students failed her course, right about in line when she worked in Myrtle Beach High School, and other virtual teachers she spoke to expressed similar results.
Responding to questions about the timing of the data, district spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said the presentation represented a “check on student progress in the virtual program” before the end of the semester, and they are in the process of compiling additional data that will be presented to the board before it’s expected to vote on the program’s future.
Some teachers with the virtual program expressed a general feeling that they’ve been “set up to fail” since the beginning — which was ahead of the 2020-21 school year — despite some students thriving in a virtual environment. The consideration of shutting down the program not only came as a shock, but also led to concern for the students who have done well in the virtual setting, teachers said.
“There are a lot of kids who are very successful and do extremely well here,” Teeguarden said. “So many stories of kids bullied, high anxiety from being in brick and mortar … they’re thriving in virtual. Is this environment for everybody? No, but neither is brick and mortar. That’s why we should be giving these kids choices.”
Around 12-15% of brick-and-mortar students fail at least one class during a typical year, chief academics officer Boone Myrick said at Monday’s school board meeting, according to MyHorryNews. It’s unclear what percentage of brick-and-mortar students are currently failing at least one class, and the last two years haven’t been typical due to the pandemic, and that should be considered when analyzing the failure rate, according to an HCS Virtual elementary teacher who declined to be named because she’s not authorized to speak to the media.
The percentage of virtual students who failed at least one class last year was not immediately available, according to Bourcier.
Virtual resources
The elementary teacher also said there’s a discrepancy in resources for virtual students versus brick-and-mortar students. For example, printed worksheets and other materials haven’t been provided by the district in some cases, and in other cases they’re severely delayed, she said.
“HCS is committed to providing a quality education to all students,” Bourcier wrote in an email. “We want our students to be successful regardless of the instructional setting in which they participate.”
Many of the resources allocated to HCS Virtual have come from the CARES Act, with millions distributed to school districts nationwide to deal with impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Horry Schools would have about $5.9 million in CARES Act funding to reallocate during the next two years if the virtual program is shuttered, according to Bourcier.
Since the program began, a series of tweaks and changes have been made to help students, Bourcier said, including the addition of a virtual library, flexible meeting schedules with teachers and tutoring.
Teeguarden noted one of the biggest changes has been student attendance requirements, with students initially allowed to complete coursework on their own time without having to be on their computers during a specific time to attend virtual classes.
That changed this semester, she said, with at least 30 minutes of live instruction being required daily for each student, but that wasn’t communicated to students before the semester started and could be a reason more students are failing — since a certain amount of absences results in an automatic failure.
Other options
If the program is dissolved, HCS Flex, which has been available since 2011 to high school students wanting to supplement their in-person classes with online courses, will remain available, Bourcier said. There are also seven free online charter schools in the state, the district noted in its recommendation to cancel the virtual program.
Teeguarden, who is also an adjunct teacher for VirtualSC, which is one of those options, noted that the online charter schools don’t tend to offer as much face-to-face time with teachers.
Superintendent Rick Maxey emphasized during Monday’s presentation that the teachers deserved no blame for any shortcomings with the virtual program, according to MyHorryNews, but the elementary teacher said district officials haven’t met with virtual teachers to discuss obstacles and possible improvements.
Bourcier responded that “ongoing support and interventions for both students and teachers have been provided throughout the school year.”
Virtual teachers often discuss issues with the program and possible improvements, the teachers said. While a final decision won’t be made for at least a month, axing the program altogether isn’t necessarily the answer, they said.
“We are taught to reflect on our teaching, our pedagogy, our management, on everything, so we can improve ourselves and be better teachers,” the elementary teacher said. “Why is that not the go-to? Why are we not reflecting on what’s not working and trying to do better?”
