Factors contributing to the successful completion of online Algebra I courses by secondary students.

Abstract

Research Question #2. Is there any significant difference in the performance of students enrolled in public schools in comparison with students who are home schooled?

Research Question #3. Is there any statistically significant difference in the achievement rate of students who enrolled in the Algebra I course for the following reasons: (a) Need to make up missing credits; (b) Desire to get ahead (accelerated learning); (c) Desire to take regular school classes online.

As evidenced by the data, there was no significant difference in the success of home school students when compared to students enrolled in public schools, for both dependent variables.

Distance education provides prospects for students to either complement traditional forms of education or take the place of it altogether. Apart from why students choose distance education options, it remains that distance education/online courses offer opportunities for students to carry on their education.

By being able to identify a variety of factors which contribute to the success of students in online courses, these factors can be used to aid students, parents and school districts in determining which students are better equipped to enroll in these courses. To that end the following research questions were examined in this study:

Whether the online option will be a positive experience for the student depends on many variables. A portion of these variables may be readily affected by school officials and teachers and others dealing with the individual. Student ability and motivation are difficult if not impossible to control and directly related to the success of all instructional processes.

The results of the comparison showed that the students who enrolled to accelerate succeeded at a significantly higher rate when compared with the other two reasons for enrollment, on both dependent variables. Having noted significance, both null hypotheses for research question three were rejected.

Research Question #1. Is there a relationship between the amount of time students spend online with the course and their performance in the course? For this research question, the correlations were not significant and none of the null hypotheses were rejected.