Industry Leader Pledges to Serve Growing Academically At-Risk
Population, One in a Series of Challenges as Online Education Gains
Mainstream Acceptance
New Chief Academic Officer Emphasizes "Finding What Works" to Drive
Academic Excellence
HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2013--
K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's largest provider of proprietary
curriculum and online education programs for students in kindergarten
through high school, released today an Academic Report highlighting
solid results and factors in individualized learning. The report aims to
provide a transparent view of progress, areas in need of improvement and
efforts K12 is taking to close gaps.
Accessible at http://investors.k12.com,
the report also highlights a series of challenges facing the industry as
it nears mainstream acceptance and describes how K12 is adapting quickly
to these factors.
Key findings in the K12 2013 Academic Report, include:
-
Solid Academic Results -- For the 2011-12 school year, students
in K12-managed public schools, in aggregate, achieved 97% of the norm
group gain in math and 196% of the norm group gain in reading based on
the results of the Scantron Performance Series, an online computerized
adaptive test used by the company to measure gains. Results for K12
private schools were broken out separately and exceed the national
norm group in math and reading for all tested grades.
-
The Longer Students Stay with K12, the Better They Perform on State
Tests – the longer that students have been enrolled in a
K12-managed school, the more likely they are to be “proficient” on
state exams.
-
Student Dynamics are Changing – Individualized learning is
encountering a growing population of academically at-risk,
economically disadvantaged, and special needs students, as well as
high mobility rates, and the complexities of measuring academic
progress across the education system. In particular, the company
indicated that in some of its schools 50 to 70 percent of students
enroll below grade level in math.
-
Parent Surveys Show High Levels of Satisfaction – 88% of
parents with students enrolled in K12-managed public schools indicate
they are satisfied with their school. The top reasons cited by parents
for selecting K12-managed schools is flexible scheduling and pacing.
Working to Advance Individualized Learning
As a leader in the industry, K12 is deploying its resources to address
the challenges facing individualized learning and to drive continuous
improvement through innovation, investment and partnerships. To date,
K12 has invested more than $330 million in innovative curriculum,
technology, learning systems and teacher training and support, with a
focus on cognitive science.
In particular, to meet the needs of a growing academically at-risk
student population, K12 is extensively innovating and investing in the
development of multiple pathways for students at different levels, along
with enhanced remedial instruction, focused support programs, and
specialized teaching practices. The Report highlights a series of pilots
to identify more effective approaches to online learning and develop
best practices to be implemented across the K12 system.
K12 Chief Executive Officer and Founder Ron Packard commented, “We want
to give every child, regardless of geographic location or economic
circumstances, the opportunity to succeed academically. Over time, it is
our goal to offer a full continuum of options that make individualized
learning the norm, not the exception for all students, whether they are
at-risk or advanced learners.”
Partnering with Districts and States to Improve Academic Performance
In addition, K12 pledged to partner with states, districts and parents
to improve academic performance and boost graduation rates. Leading
efforts to boost academic performance is Dr. Margaret Jorgensen, K12’s
recently announced Chief Academic Officer (CAO) who is working with a
distinguished Education Advisory Board. Jorgensen emphasized, “Our
mission is to see the promise of individualized learning fulfilled and
make the dream of a great education for every child a reality by
focusing on academic performance across the board. We need to ask the
right questions, find what works best for kids and settle for nothing
short of excellence, no matter what form of assessment states employ.”
Specifically, the Company cited the following goals for raising the bar
on academic performance:
-
Accelerate Learning -- For students who enter below grade
level, accelerate the rate of learning to a pace faster than what was
experienced in their prior educational setting, working to catch them
up over time. For students who enter on or above grade level, make one
year or more of progress for each year they are enrolled in a
K12-managed public school.
-
Empower Teachers -- Provide teachers with the training and
tools needed to best serve students and continue to develop
state-of-the-art curriculum and learning systems.
-
Increase Engagement -- Increase engagement and drive academic
performance through the creation of multiple programs for students
with different interests and aspirations, so they can learn in the
most efficient way and be better prepared to succeed.
-
Improve Nation’s Graduation Rates – Continue to have a role in
the nation’s quest to improve graduation rates and help ensure a
promising future for every child.
“We believe the industry is reaching an inflection point and we expect
results to get better every year. With Margie Jorgensen leading our
team, we will focus even more intensely on working with cognitive
scientists, experienced educators and other industry leaders to ‘crack
the code’ on what makes learning come alive for all types of students,
even those chronically unengaged students for whom our current online
individualized pedagogical approach may not be appropriate. We foresee a
time in the not-too-distant future when an algebra course is an engaging
as a good video game,” added Packard.
K12 also said it will continue to explore new and improved means of
gauging student progress, including tracking studies to measure outcomes
over time, such as college graduation and employability. K12 is also
celebrating the second annual National Digital Learning Day by hosting a
series of events across the country to recognize teachers, students and
educators who are breaking new ground by individualizing education
through digital learning.
About K12, Inc.
K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is leading the transformation to individualized
learning as the nation's foremost provider of technology-powered online
solutions for students in pre-kindergarten through high school. K12 has
worked with over 2,000 school districts and has delivered more than four
million courses over the past decade. K12 provides curricula, academic
services, and learning solutions to public schools and districts,
traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and families. K12's
curriculum is rooted in decades of research combined with 21st-century
technology by cognitive scientists, interactive designers and teachers.
K12's portfolio of more than 550 unique courses and titles -- the most
extensive in the technology-based education industry -- covers every
core subject and four academic levels for high school including Honors
and AP. K12 also offers credit recovery courses, career-building
electives, remediation support, six world languages and a deep STEM
offering. K12 also manages public schools serving more than 120,000
full-time students in 32 states and the District of Columbia and private
schools serving students in all 50 states and 85 countries. More
information can be found at K12.com.
Source: K12 Inc.
K12 Inc.
Investor Contact:
Christina L. Parker,
703-483-7077
VP Investor Relations
chparker@k12.com
or
Press
Contact:
Jeff Kwitowski, 703-483-7281
SVP Public Relations
jkwitowski@k12.com