@EdWorkingPaper{ai19-47,
title = "Does Online Course-taking Increase High School Completion and Open Pathways to Postsecondary Education Opportunities?",
author = "Carolyn J. Heinrich, Jennifer Darling-Aduana",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "47",
year = "2019",
month = "May",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai19-47",
abstract = {Recent substantial increases in high school graduation rates have been linked anecdotally to the expansion of online course-taking for credit recovery. Online course-taking that supports high school completion could open new opportunities for postsecondary education pursuits. Alternatively, poorer quality online instruction could diminish student engagement and learning and discourage persistence toward graduation and further education. Using fixed-effect models and inverse probability weighting with regression adjustment with data from an eight-year longitudinal study of online course-taking in high schools, we find positive associations between online course-taking in high school and credits earned, high school graduation, and college enrollment. Our results leave open the question of whether online course-taking supports learning that will lead to longer-term postsecondary education and labor market success. },
}