Policy, Implementation, and Associated Outcomes: The Case of Online Credit Recovery in High Schools

• In Event: Improving Student Engagement and Achievement in Online Learning Settings

Abstract

Introduction/Background
Course failure is common in high school. Historically, schools have enrolled students in face-to-face remediation options, now commonly termed credit recovery, to allow students to earn credits for previously failed courses, but online asynchronous learning for credit recovery is now more common. Online credit recovery (OCR) is potentially problematic if the courses are low quality or ill-suited for the needs of students who fail courses. While quasi-experimental research has sometimes found positive effects of OCR on credit accrual and graduation, this is often balanced with negative effects on test scores, postsecondary enrollment, and future earnings (Hart et al., 2019; Heinrich et al., 2019, 2019; Heinrich & Darling-Aduana, 2021; Viano, 2021, 2023; Viano & Henry, 2024). However, two experiments in which students were randomly assigned to OCR found primarily null differences in outcomes (Rickles et al., 2018, 2023). This conflicting evidence could indicate differing effects based on policy and implementation. 

Purpose/Research Question
This study builds on existing evidence using mixed methods to address the following research questions: How do school leaders structure OCR enrollment, administration, and engagement? To what extent are stated policies on OCR reflected in data on OCR course taking including policies related to course subject, student grade level, dropout status, and progress to graduation? To what extent are student outcomes, including graduation status, test scores, and GPA, associated with policies and their implementation?  

Methods
The study focuses on a large, diverse, suburban school district in the mid-Atlantic region. This school district uses a site-based management model, giving school leaders significant autonomy over policy decisions, including their use of OCR. We collected primary data from nine high schools in 2024-25 alongside data from the online course platform and district administrative data from 2016 through 2025. The study follows an exploratory, sequential design. After identifying policy intents through interview data with school leaders, we compare their stated policies with data on course taking both in that year and prior years. We then examine the correlation between stated policy, evidence from course data on actual implementation, and student outcomes using multi-level modeling. 

Results/Findings
Our findings reveal substantial cross‑school variation in OCR policies and patterns in the association between these policies and outcomes. We find schools often have specific enrollment policies that prioritize students based on grade level (especially seniors) and former school dropouts while also limiting enrollment to certain courses as well as policies on when students complete their coursework and who is monitoring their course.  The quantitative models indicate scheduling asynchronous courses in a block during the school day is associated with higher engagement while relying primarily on after‑school course time is associated with short‑run engagement but lower attendance and graduation.

Conclusion/Implications
These results recast asynchronous online learning through a policy and implementation lens with scheduling the time, constraining the course options, staffing, and institutionalizing monitoring as potentially significant levers for improving engagement and outcomes for students served by OCR.

Author

• Samantha Viano, Johns Hopkins University
  Presenting Author