Question:
What percentage of elementary and secondary schools offer distance education?
Response:
Distance education in elementary and secondary grades, defined as credit-granting courses offered to elementary and secondary school students enrolled in the district in which the teacher and student were in different locations, has become an important element of the contemporary educational landscape. Distance education offers a way to help schools and school districts deal with overcrowding, student demand for Advanced Placement (AP) and college-level courses, and individualized schedules. Online distance education, that is, distance education courses delivered via the Internet, is considered by some policymakers as a way of helping schools and school districts address these challenges.
During the 12-month 2004� school year, 37 percent of public school districts and 10 percent of all public schools nationwide had students enrolled in technology-based distance education courses. This represents an estimated 5,670 public school districts and 9,050 public schools. The number of enrollments in technology-based distance education courses increased from an estimated 317,070 enrollments in 2002� to 506,950 in 2004�.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Technology-Based Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2002-03 and 2004-05 (NCES 2008-008), Executive Summary .
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