How Online Courses Can Help Achieve Graduation Goals

Graduation rates are one of the most important measures used to gauge the success of our nation’s education system. Recently, the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education announced the public high school graduation rate for 2015 was 83.2 percent – an all-time high. However, despite this achievement there is still work to be done to ensure every student is both earning a diploma and being provided with tools necessary for postsecondary success.

There are many organizations supporting schools and districts in reform efforts to improve education outcomes. One noteworthy initiative is America’s Promise Alliance GradNation campaign, which has set the goal of increasing the nation’s on-time graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020. In their 2016 annual report, Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Raising High School Graduation Rates, they outline five populations which have the greatest opportunity to help drive the graduation rate toward the campaigns 90 percent goal: low-income students, black and Hispanic/Latino students, students with disabilities, English language learners, and low-graduation rate high schools.

At Edmentum, we have the privilege of working with schools and educators around the country who are developing innovative methods to get all students engaged in learning and on track for graduation. Dedicated, creative educators are at the core of any effective initiative, and online courses can be powerful resources in their toolbelts that give students the resources and flexibility necessary for success.

When effectively integrated into a learning environment, online courses can give students even more choices in what they take, flexibility in how they consume the content, and opportunities to learn in different ways through the engaging online curriculum.

For education organizations in need of a wide variety of courses to support online learning in credit-bearing programs, Edmentum Courseware offers libraries spanning core and elective courses. Built to national and state standards by subject matter experts using sound pedagogy and best practices in online instructional design, our courses provide rigorous and engaging learning experiences for students.

For over 50 years, Edmentum has been providing proven, effective credit recovery solutions to districts across the country. By focusing on instruction that fills learners’ knowledge gaps and providing them with personalized learning experiences, we target the specific issues that have prevented students from moving forward in the past. The depth of research and the breadth of scope of Edmentum courses can help you create a credit recovery program that will make a real difference in student outcomes. With Courseware, you can:

• Identify gaps in student understanding
   
• Use personalized learning paths for efficient and effective credit recovery
   
• Utilize learner data to target specific opportunity areas
   
• Implement comprehensive full semester customizable courses aligned to state and Common Core standards

Online learning, in standard classrooms as well as credit recovery programs, is not about finding an “easier” alternative to traditional courses; it’s about engaging different learning modalities, uncovering genuine interests, monitoring progress, tailoring pace, developing useful real-world skills, and achieving the ultimate goal of a high school diploma. Edmentum Courseware empowers students with new opportunities to personalize their learning experience, while also challenging them to put many traditional tools and strategies to use.

Interested in learning more about Edmentum’s comprehensive, engaging, online courseware that educators and students are using to power inspired teaching and learning every day? Download our guide to Meeting Student Needs with Online Curriculum!