Joe Ferrare presents research on the effects of virtual charter schools

Joe Ferrare, associate professor in IAS, recently presented his research on the effects of virtual charter high schools at the annual meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management in Washington, D.C.

The study used longitudinal data from the Indiana Department of Education to estimate the impacts of Indiana's virtual charter schools on rates of high school dropout, graduation, and two-year and four-year college enrollment. This project is a collaboration with colleagues from the University of Notre Dame and University of Kentucky, and was funded by a grant from the Institute for Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.

Although Washington State does not have any virtual charter schools, the state does offer virtual schooling options through its Alternative Learning Experience programs. Ferrare hopes to study the effects of Washington State's online schools in future work as virtual forms of education continue to expand in the region and across the country.