In the fifth essay of the Education Week series "Weighing the Research: What Works, What Doesn't," Professor of Education Susanna Loeb explores the effectiveness of online learning in K-12 education. "It is not surprising that in-person courses are, on average, more effective. Being in person with teachers and other students creates social pressures and benefits that can help motivate students to engage. Some students do as well in online courses as in in-person courses, some may actually do better, but, on average, students do worse in the online setting, and this is particularly true for students with weaker academic backgrounds." 

How Effective Is Online Learning? What the Research Does and Doesn't Tell Us — Education Week