Essay --

As of September 2012, the number of states and school districts requiring online courses for high school graduation has increased, as states seek to teach students how to manage in an increasingly digital world. In April 2006, Michigan became the first state to require online learning as a requirement for high school graduation. Since that time Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Virginia have legislated requirements. Georgia, New Mexico, and West Virginia recommend students experience an online learning course before graduating from high school; however, it is not required. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Utah allow students to choose online courses from multiple accredited online providers. Some local school boards in districts across the country have promoted similar graduation requirements, including Marietta City Schools in Georgia, Memphis City Schools and Putnam County Schools in Tennessee, and the Kenosha and Cedarburg School Districts in Wisconsin. Education leaders in these states and districts believe that requiring online courses as a requirement for graduation is a necessary step toward becoming college and/or career ready, because when a student graduates from high school, whether choosing a two-year or four-year college, or entering the workforce, there is the likelihood of taking an online course. According to the Education Commission of the States, most virtual offerings are at the high school level. Students taking individual online courses are much more common than are students attending fully-virtual secondary institutions. According to Market Data Retrieval, 15% of American high schools provide online courses; some states, districts and universities host virtual high schools. In O... ...chools and parish-based Catechism courses. Catholic Online Education Providers Edified Online partners with Catholic schools worldwide to provide online education resources and course offerings that exceed national standards and expectations. Edified has more than 80 online courses available for grades 6-12, including College Board certified AP courses. Edified Online is endorsed by the NCEA. Catholic Schools K12 Virtual is an online school comprised of resources, academic, elective and religion classes for Catholic school students. Working with a number of experts in the field of online education, Catholic Schools K12 Virtual has developed a two tiered model for online education; the virtual class and the digital classroom, blending traditional education and online learning. Costs for an online course, depending on its length, range from $300 to $700 per course.