Exploring Teachers’ Influence on Student Success in an Online Biology Course

Title:	Exploring Teachers’ Influence on Student Success in an Online Biology Course
Description:	This study of an online high school biology course offered by Florida Virtual School examined the amount of variation in course completion, students’ final exam scores, and time to completion that is attributable to the influence of teachers. This study examined three different student outcomes for segment 1 of the course: the rate of course completion, score on the final exam at the end of the course segment, and time taken to complete the segment. Students' end-of-segment exam varied only slightly across teachers, but teachers showed more influence on completion rates and time to completion. As a result, students with the highest- and lowest-performing teachers had notable differences in their time to completion and minor differences in course completion and exam scores.
Online Availability:	Download, view and print the report as a pdf file. (594KB) Download, view and print the report snapshot as a pdf file. (130KB) Download, view and print the report appendices as a pdf file. (1.1MB)
Cover Date:	January 2021
Web Release:	January 6, 2021
Publication #:	REL 2021056
Center/Program:	REL
Associated Centers:	NCEE
Authors:	John Hughes, Zahid Kisa, and Diana Sharp
Type of Product:	Descriptive Study
Keywords:	Achievement (Student) • science Online Learning Teachers • quality of instruction
Questions:	For questions about the content of this Descriptive Study, please contact: Amy Johnson.