I was reading an article (http://bit.ly/9jDJsz) on credit recovery courses in Texas that asked whether they could cut dropout rates, but there is a more important question we need to ask: are online credit recovery courses a good idea? If you’re only concerned with improving your graduation rates, then yes, but what are these courses really teaching kids? These classes aren’t regulated the same way that regular classes are and they’re accelerating material that the student previously failed to master. This might not be a problem for students who failed simply due to a lack of effort rather than a lack of understanding, but those who did not understand the material the first time around may not truly learn anything from these accelerated credit recover courses. We need to evaluate and regulate the curriculum for these online courses. They shouldn’t be an easy way out of the regular curriculum, but rather a chance for students to learn in a different way that might help them understand better. I’m all for improving graduation rates, but it shouldn’t be done by decreasing the quality of the education the student receives.
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