Online Coursework as Related to Graduation Rates of At-Risk Students in a Rural Public High School in Bedford County, Tennessee

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between the academic achievement, disciplinary referrals, and attendance of at-risk students in rural Bedford County, TN, prior to and after participation in online coursework. The independent variables were the academic achievement towards successful course completions, disciplinary referrals, and attendance rates of at-risk students. The dependent variable was the participation in online coursework in Bedford County Schools (BCS) Online On-track (OLOT) program. A series of ttests and a chi-square analyses was performed to examine the differences in the mean course completion rates, discipline referrals, attendance rates, and postsecondary plans of graduates. There was a significant difference in disciplinary referral rates and attendance rates prior to and after participation. Based on these findings there was a positive impact on discipline rates and inversely a negative impact on the attendance rate. Additionally, there was a negative impact on academic achievement rates prior to and after participation in online coursework in the BCS OLOT program. Also, the difference in the proportions of graduates continuing their education and other plans was significantly different from the responses given by all graduates in Tennessee