NCVPS Evaluation (2007-2010)
OVERVIEW
The Friday Institute Evaluation Team conducted macro program and micro project evaluations for the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) between 2007-2010. NCVPS offers over 100 complete courses and additional modules to multiple student groups across the state of North Carolina, including OCS, credit recovery, general studies, honors, and AP. Courses and modules utilize the Blackboard course management system and supplemental online tools such as whiteboards, wikis, active worlds, and discussion groups to maximize student interaction. Courses are taught by licensed teachers who must take supplemental professional development and mentoring in online teaching before they are assigned course sections.
The primary purpose of the NCVPS macro program evaluation was to provide data to NCVPS administration to improve their existing courses and services, to design new services where needs warrant, and to evaluate progress made by NCVPS toward its strategic goals. This work included survey development, data collection, statistical and qualitative data analysis, and reporting. Three technical reports were generated from summer '07, spring '08, and spring '09 samples. Overall, 4100 students, 303 teachers, 357 distance learning advisors, and 59 high school principals, provided feedback on NCVPS in these three studies. Beyond surveying stakeholders to provide general formative feedback to NCVPS, the Evaluation Team also conducted micro project evaluations for the NCVPS curriculum department. The team conducted focus groups and surveys with teachers hired to develop elementary and middle grades courses for NCVPS to determine course developer needs (spring '09), and used survey data to examine the benefits of a study skills course piloted in 8th grade classrooms to assist with the transition to high school (spring '10). Further evaluations were solicited by NCVPS and proposed by the team, including an external evaluation of the lowest-rated NCVPS courses by e-learning standards and a cost-benefit analysis, but state funding was not available to carry out the work.
Project Contributors: Kevin Brady (Co-PI), Glenn Kleiman, Ruchi Patel, Kevin Oliver (Co-PI and PI), Jason Osborne (PI), and Latricia Townsend
PROJECT TEAM
- Dr. Kevin Oliver
- Ruchi Patel
Graduate Research Assistant - Dr. Glenn Kleiman
- Tricia Townsend
- Jennifer Tagsold
Graduate Research Assistant
