Two lines of research have emerged to study the causes and prevention of student failure in virtual (K-12) schools: studies of learner characteristics and studies of learning environment characteristics. To develop a useful model for predicting failure and promoting success in virtual school environments, a study was designed to measure the relation between a combination of student and environmental factors derived from previous research and successful course completion during one semester at a large (N = 4,100) virtual school. Study findings yielded a model that can discriminate between successful and unsuccessful online school students and is especially effective at identifying those likely to succeed.Early in the development of distance learning programs, it became apparent that dropout and failure rates tended to be significantly higher for distance students than for those in traditional, face-to-face classrooms (Bernard and Amundsen 1989;Cyrs 1997;Dille and Mezack 1991). That trend has persisted throughout the development of newer distance delivery technologies ). Two very different lines of research have emerged to study the causes of the problem and how to address it: studies of Correspondence should be sent to M. D. Roblyer, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies, 615 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403. SUCCESS IN VIRTUAL SCHOOL STUDENTS 91learner characteristics and studies of the characteristics of learning environments. However, neither of these lines of research has yielded a consistently helpful model for addressing the problem.This study was undertaken to explore whether a combination of learner characteristics and learning environment variables derived from past research could predict success in one kind of distance learning population (virtual school students) and how organizations that offer distance courses might use findings from such a model to facilitate online learning success for future students. STUDYING THE ROLE OF LEARNER CHARACTERISTICSDuring the pre-Internet days, research on distance learning success developed around the influence of learner characteristics. The assumption was that, in light of the highly abstract quality of these learning environments, successful learners were those who were simply better equipped to deal with the complexity of learning in this new format.As distance learning expanded to include more diverse populations and younger learners at earlier levels of education, research on learner characteristics began to assume even greater significance. Hartley and Bendixen (2001) felt that if the primary reason for success or failure in distance learning lies in learner characteristics, this finding has the potential to widen an already troublesome Digital Divide. STUDYING THE ROLE OF NONSTUDENT VARIABLESNot everyone agrees, however, that learner characteristics are the overarching contributors to success. P. Smith and Dillon (1999) felt that the characteristics of distance learning delivery systems and course de...

Twelve forms of an essay exam, identical in content but differing in writing neatness and types of composition errors, were graded by 420 prospective teachers. The results indicate that: (a) an essay response containing either 18 spelling errors or 18 grammar errors will be assigned significantly lower grades than the same response containing no gross composition errors; and (b) a good handwritten essay response will be assigned significantly higher grades than a fair handwritten response. Of particular interest was this latter result and the lack of significance between the mean grades assigned to the poor handwritten and typewritten forms and the mean grades assigned to the other writing forms. Furthermore, there was not a significant interaction effect between composition errors and writing neatness.

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Learning style assessment provides a framework within which individual differences for specific ways of learning can be described. Kolb's Learning Style Inventory has been used to assess learners' preferences for specific phases of an experiential learning cycle. This study was designed to determine the reliability and construct validity of an alternate form of the Learning Style Inventory using a semantic differential format. Results of this study suggest that the alternate form was reliable and construct valid. In addition, they indicate that this alternate form might be more reliable than a previously presented Likert-type normative form.