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State report: virtual public schools underperform in growth metrics, board seeks enrollment and intervention data
Summary
Tennessee Department of Education presented the 2023-24 annual report on public virtual schools, noting that a majority of virtual schools scored in the lowest growth level and that additional enrollment and longitudinal intervention data will be provided to the board on request.
The Tennessee Department of Education presented its 2023-24 virtual education program report on Aug. 7, telling the State Board of Education that public virtual schools in the state continue to underperform on growth measures compared with traditional brick-and-mortar schools.
Lexi Harless, policy and research analyst at the department, summarized the report and answered board questions. "Public virtual schools are also held to the same rigorous standards as traditional brick and mortar public schools and are funded in the same manner," Harless said, adding that state law gives the commissioner authority to recommend closure or enrollment caps for virtual schools that score at the lowest growth level for three consecutive years.
Board members pressed for more granular data after Harless noted that, "historically, public virtual schools underperform compared to those in-person schools." Ryan Holt asked about a line in the report showing that roughly 62% of virtual schools scored a level 1 on the state's growth metric for the past year and requested approximate student enrollment counts in those level-1 schools and how many have had level-1 results for three consecutive years, which could trigger state intervention. Harless said the appendices include per-school enrollment and letter-grade data and that the department would provide specific counts on request.
Board members also queried whether synchronous versus asynchronous program models had differing outcomes; Harless said she did not have that breakdown immediately available but would work with program staff to provide it.
Harless described the department's accountability and monitoring framework for public virtual schools: LEAs must approve virtual schools; the department reviews applications and monitors operations, teacher licensure, instructional materials alignment and annual school plans; and virtual schools earn letter grades under the state's accountability framework. She reiterated that the state has additional statutory oversight when a virtual school persists at poor growth levels.
Why it matters: the report shows a concentration of low-growth virtual programs and raises questions about the department's capacity to identify persistent underperformance and the potential for state intervention under existing law.
Follow-up: the board asked department staff to provide further breakdowns, including enrollment counts for level-1 virtual schools, the number of schools with multi-year low-growth histories, and any available comparisons between synchronous and asynchronous models.
Sources: Presentation and Q&A at the State Board of Education meeting, Aug. 7, 2025.
Note: The article reports figures and program descriptions given in the department presentation; where the department lacked immediate data, the board requested follow-up information instead of drawing conclusions.
