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Objectives and Purposes
The study of the quality of an online algebra course seeks to answer the following question:
Does the algebra achievement of students in online courses designed by Florida Virtual School differ from the achievement of students in school-based algebra classrooms?

Significance
National and state-level education policymakers belong to a diverse group but have shared core interests: enacting policy that results in the most accessible, equitable, high quality education system that is feasible with the resources that are available. This group seeks data on effectiveness of educational approaches in terms of numbers and groups of students served, student success rates, and resources needed to implement the approaches effectively. Acquiring the data needed by policymakers is a step that follows basic research into effective methods and implementation of the methods on a wider scale. This study indicates that online algebra courses and interactive tools have the potential to reach any student with access to the necessary technology, and that the courses with these tools can be effective on a large scale.

Perspective or Theoretical Framework
The U.S. Department of Education has challenged America’s schools to produce math excellence required for global economic leadership and security in the information age using scientifically based methods. The state in which this study took place is one of 17 states in which the percentage of 8th grade students at or above proficient levels in mathematics was significantly below the national average (NCES 2003).

Research has found that many students have difficulties making the transition from school arithmetic to school algebra with its symbolism, equation solving, and emphasis on relationships among quantities. Various innovative approaches to beginning algebra, many using computational tools, have been investigated. These new approaches offer considerable promise for avoiding the difficulties many students now experience (Beatty, 2005). Interactive tools in online environments provide experiences that help students discover and verify the relationships among symbols and representations of algebraic operations.

In general, technology enhances and extends students’ abilities to work with complex and abstract mathematical concepts. Because the online algebra course studied here relies on technology to supply the media for teaching and learning, it would appear to be well-suited for its role. In addition to presentation of information and opportunities for practice of skills, secondary education depends on effective communication between skilled teachers and motivated students. For this reason, the whole course experience has a bearing on learning, and factors related to communication must be considered when evaluating online course quality.

Research Methods
The algebra achievement of two groups of algebra students was measured using an established, reliable algebra exam. The groups were:
1. Students enrolled in online algebra courses developed by a large online school
2. Students enrolled in classroom-based algebra courses taught in public schools in the same state as the online school

All students were taught by state certified mathematics teachers following the state standards, and using state adopted materials. Algebra achievement was measured when students had reached 70% completion of the course using the Assessment of Algebraic Understanding (AAU) published by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The AAU is a 50-item, multiple-choice test that was designed “for determining the extent to which students have mastered algebraic concepts. The items are aligned with the Algebra Standards as described by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)” (ETS, 2004). The test can be administered according to any schedule. The reliability coefficient (KR-20) for the 2003 form of the Assessment of Algebraic Understanding is 0.8655.

Each AAU test item is aligned to one of the four components of the NCTM Algebra Standards, on which state mathematics standards are based:
* Understand patterns, relations, and functions
* Represent and analyze mathematical situations and structures using algebraic symbols
* Use mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships
* Analyze change in various contexts

The exam provides subscores for Patterns and Relations, Using Algebraic Symbols, mathematical Models, and Analyze Change.

The online students who had reached the same point in the algebra course as face-to-face classroom students (70% completion) by March 15 received a copy of the AAU exam, answer form, and consent form by mail. Students enrolled in classroom-based algebra courses taught in a Florida public school in a district served by the online school also received the tests and consent forms during the same time period. The tests at all sites were administered according to the guidelines provided by Educational Testing Service. Tests and answer forms were returned by mail and scored electronically by project staff for immediate results in order to inform instruction.

Results or Expectations
The ETS AAU full scores for the virtual group ranged from 19 to 32 while the full scores for the classroom-based group ranged from 10 to 33. Means for the ETS AAU full score were 24.08 for the virtual group and 19.43 for the classroom-based group. The distribution for the virtual group appeared to be somewhat positively skewed with a skewness value of .93. The distribution for the classroom-based group appeared approximately normal with skewness and kurtosis values less than 1. Means were also calculated for each of the four subscores of the ETS AAU for both the virtual and the classroom-based groups. With the exception of the Change subscore, the classroom-based group had slightly lower means for the Patterns, Symbols, and Models subscores than the virtual group.

Correlations between the four subscores and the ETS AAU full score were calculated by group. In the virtual group, the subscore for Symbols correlated highly with the ETS AAU full score, r = .91. Moderate correlations were found between the Patterns subscore and the ETS AAU full score and the Models subscore and the ETS AAU full score, correlations of .59 and .55, respectively. Therefore, as the subscores for Symbols, Patterns, and Models increase, so does the ETS AAU full score. A negative correlation was found between the Change subscore and the Full score with r = -.44. One can conclude from this negative correlation that as the Change subscore goes down the ETS AAU full score increases for the virtual group.

The four subscores had moderate to moderately high correlations with the ETS AAU full score for the classroom-based group. The correlations between the ETS AAU full score and the Patterns, Symbols, Models, and Change subscores were .69, .79, .70, and .46, respectively. It could be determined that as the four subscores increase, so does the ETS AAU full score for the classroom-based group.

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V-NECC-Virtually Extending NECC Over Time and Place
n/a

Referenced Web Links (URLs)
http://www.ncrel.org
http://www.nacol.org