<p>PALO ALTO, Calif. — In June, about 30 seniors will graduate from a little-known online high school currently called the Education Program for Gifted Youth [EPGY]. But their diplomas will bear a different name: Stanford Online High School.
Yes, that Stanford — the elite research university known for producing graduates who win Nobels and found Googles, not for teaching basic algebra to teenagers. Five years after the opening of the experimental program, some education experts consider Stanford’s decision to attach its name to the effort a milestone for online education.
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/education/stanfords-online-high-school-raises-the-bar.html?hp%5B/url%5D">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/education/stanfords-online-high-school-raises-the-bar.html?hp</a></p>
<p>This is inevitable. And the article is right–there is a potential for some really low quality online classes, or kids who are not equipped or motivated to handle online classes, or families who will get ripped off by unscrupulous companies, etc.</p>
<p>But I also can think of the great possibilities. I wish my son had back every hour he spent in class bored. If he’d had access to really great online teachers, maybe he could have spent those hours being challenged and excited by learning.</p>
<p>There are terrific possibilities for free online high school education for those with the wherewithal to own a computer. If there is way to have enterprising students challenge rigorous online exams, a way that is reasonably fraud proof, the government could set up excellent online schools for those more advanced, or less adaptable, than others to replace, or augment, traditional high schools. </p>
<p>Just as home schoolers do now, those opting for online high school can form support groups for social gatherings, outings, sports, etc. The job of teaching will probably change significantly over the next several years, and good teachers may become more specialized tutors supplementing basic online courses. There was nothing that my kids did at their middling public high school that could not have been done at home other than hang out away from home with other students, with the exception of a few chemistry and physics experiments. While they enjoyed time with their friends, and there should be opportunities for that, it was not crucial to their academic enrichment. In fact, it was detrimental given the lack of motivated students at their school.</p>
<p>The same principles can be applied to college as well. After I pay a ton to send my kids to good LACs over the next four years, those schools may become obsolete when the economy tanks and no one can afford to send their children there anymore, and education moves online. Research universities will survive because most homes won’t have particle accelerators, etc., but the days of the humanities major at the LAC are numbered - and I love LACs and the humanities.</p>
<p>Boston University has had Boston University Academy for quite some time.</p>
<p>I am not a fan of online high school (or college, for that matter) — I think it is best to be there in person, but I also know that there are many legitimate reasons for online classes. That said, I would certainly prefer a high school run by Stanford to the c**p I saw pass for online classes when I was a high school substitute teacher.</p>
<p>this is what impressed me most from the article:</p>
<p>“Of the high school’s 75 graduates, 69 so far have enrolled directly in four-year colleges, according to Raymond Ravaglia, the high school’s executive director. Eight attend Stanford, and 25 others are at Ivy League institutions or other elite campuses.”</p>
<p>So 44% of their graduates attend Ivy + Stanford…which is incredible given that the nations top high schools (boarding & day schools including roxbury latin, andover, exeter, harvard westlake, trinity, horace mann, etc etc. ) generally send no more than 30-35% to these schools.</p>
<p>you can check out stats for some of the nations most prestigious high schools on the following site. ([Matriculation</a> Stats](<a href=“http://matriculationstats.org/]Matriculation”>http://matriculationstats.org/))</p>
<p>^^well, the minimum acceptable tests scores to qualify for EPGY [ SAT tests, or IQ tests] are pretty high, so these college acceptances should not be surprising. It is in essence an online high school for the gifted.</p>
<p>They are apparently buying the College Board’s PSAT lists. My son received an invitation to apply for the 2012-2013 academic year. I was about to look into it when I saw this thread. I figured it was like a “Manchester United” soccer camp; nothing to do with the club, but simply a marketing ploy.</p>
<p>He’s attending a high school that has a very good reputation, but I wonder whether The Stanford AP classes might do a better job of preparing kids for the tests.</p>
<p>The letterhead now reads “Stanford University Online High School”.</p>