Edgenuity

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Edgenuity
Founded1998; 26 years ago (1998)
HeadquartersScottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Founder(s)Sari Factor
Key peopleJonathan Grayer, CEO
ServicesOnline education
Employees2,000
ParentImagine Learning
URLwww.imaginelearning.com/products/imagine-edgenuity/
Formerly known as Education2020 (E2020) from 1998 to 2013.

Edgenuity, formerly Education2020 (E2020), is an online learning resource for school districts produced by an American company Imagine Learning,[1] which teaches kindergarten through 12th grade[2] in core, elective, credit recovery, technical, and career subjects.[3][4] As of 2019, Edgenuity serves more than four million students in the United States.[5] Edgenuity also runs learning curriculum Time4Learning.

History[edit]

Origins and lobbying convictions (1998–2016)[edit]

Edgenuity was founded in 1998 as Education2020 Inc. (E2020).[6] In 2011, it was purchased by the company Weld North for an estimated US$50 million.[6] In 2013, Education2020 changed its name to Edgenuity.[4] In 2014, Edgenuity launched My Path, a program learning path alternative for reading and math grades 6-12th. The same year, Edgenuity partnered with SOPHIA Learning to offer additional credit options.[7]

Edgenuity began seeing an increase in usage in the 2010s; from 2012 to 2014, Edgenuity paid politician Mike Hubbard in an act of lobbying a total of US$210,000,[8] including a series of weekly checks worth US$7500 each titled "lobbying services."[9][10] According to Edgenuity executive vice president Michael Humphrey, testifying in court, the act was done "to open doors"; he intended to use Hubbard as a way to secure and engage future meetings with higher Legislative members. Hubbard was sentenced to four years in prison for ethical violations according to state laws. State School board member Mary Scott Hunter emailed superintendent Tommy Bice about the matter in March 2015, only for him to never respond and retire less than a month later.[10]

COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2021)[edit]

Edgenuity became a popular tool for remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12][13] Due to stay-at-home orders and schools needing an alternative teaching source, Edgenuity saw a massive spike in usage, resulting in slow servers and site crashes; many schools reported problems with the site in its early stages of the pandemic.[14] The number of new users caused a lack of course instructor employees, but this was later resolved.[15] According to school districts, Edgenuity was a popular choice mainly due to a lack of other options.[16]

By 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the admission of 500 school districts to the service, earning the company US$145 million in profit—double what the company made the year prior—due to the spike of Edgenuity usage alongside other learning platforms acquired by the company before the pandemic began.[16]

In 2021, CEO Sari Factor released a statement addressing the issues raised by the public. She stated how some districts were using the site in unintended ways, and schools that were following procedures were benefiting from the program. She also mentioned how the student-to-teacher ratio was off-balance due to the school's lack of employment and also blamed student struggles on the effects of COVID-19 on the system and education.[16]

Education style[edit]

Edgenuity is a virtual alternative that uses pre-recorded videos and primarily focuses on struggling students and sticking to a pace.[17][18] Along with pre-recorded lecture, Edgenuity uses interactives and real-world problems.[19] In addition to helping students who need extra support, the software is often used by schools to help students who have failed courses get the credits they are missing.[20]

Awards and nominations[edit]

In 2020, Digital Promise awarded Imagine Edgenuity's Courseware, Mypath, and Pathblazer services with the Research-Based Design Product Certification.[21][22]

Reception[edit]

During the time of the site's popularity during the pandemic, both parents and students complained how Edgenuity was frustrating, stating difficulties in loading, understanding concepts, and the inability to skip newly presented content.[23][24] Most of the pass/fail content comes from quizzes at the end of each lesson, and parents noted how students were memorizing the answers to reappearing questions rather than learning the material.[25] Parents have also cited the function of tutoring help, where students can get aid from a real teacher when they get stuck on a question. Some students complained over long waiting times, some waiting hours, for the arrival of virtual tutor aid. According to Angie Richardson, a parent of a 13-year-old student interviewed by Buzzfeed News's Erik Carter, both virtual tutoring and emails were often slow and sometimes entirely unresponsive, and her child was ultimately required to return to brick and mortar due to falling behind.[16]

Edgenuity has been criticized for the standardization of their test questions,[26][27] and how it was easy for students to cheat while taking tests.[28] In addition, the nature of the standardization causes students who failed a test to receive a very similar set of questions on their second attempt, making it easy to guess answers via trial and error. A study published by Slate Magazine showed that students using Edgenuity received, on average, 37 out of 50 identical questions during their second attempt to pass a test.[29] Another study from The Verge discovered short answer questions are graded through artificial intelligence, and students have found ways to cheat using keywords the AI is looking for to give passing grades. The Verge cited a teacher whose student was using the site who inserted words in an order that was patent nonsense yet included words that were involved in answering the question, dubbed a "word salad", and received full credit for the response.[30][31]

Teachers also showed frustration with how Edgenuity handles student organization in their contracts. In Providence, Rhode Island, teachers were given an average of 52 students to handle each and weren't able to properly communicate with all of them in an orderly manner.[32] In St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, some teachers were even given up to 600 students to manage via email each.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Price, Chevall (27 March 2020). "Cy-Fair ISD parents adjust to learning at home". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  2. ^ Guidry, Leigh (22 April 2020). "Have a graduating senior? Lafayette Parish releases info about grade recovery, requirements". Lafayette Daily. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  3. ^ LaRoue, Jimmy (30 March 2020). "Division rolls out learning plan". Suffolk Herald News. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "E2020 Changes Name to Edgenuity, Releases New Platform". Tim Sohn. The Journal. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  5. ^ Edgenuity CEO Sari Factor Recognized As CEO Of The Year, May 9, 2019
  6. ^ a b Molnar, Michelle (1 August 2016). "Edgenuity Acquires Compass Learning to Expand Online, Blended Learning Reach". Edweek. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Edgenuity Product Review". Edsurge.
  8. ^ Eads, Mike (2020-08-28). "Alabama Supreme Court denies Mike Hubbard appeal, orders him to prison". Opelika-Auburn News. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  9. ^ Lyman, Brian (2016-05-20). "The Mike Hubbard case: Breaking down the charges". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  10. ^ a b Moseley, Brandon (2016-06-15). "Why Did Edgenuity Buy Mike Hubbard?". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  11. ^ LaRoue, Jimmy (10 April 2020). "Board adopts grading plan". Suffolk News Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Schools to remain closed, EPSB makes online resources available". Evangeline Today. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  13. ^ Stansell, Kaitlin (1 April 2020). "Berkeley Co. teachers will use upcoming 'workday' for blended learning preparations". Live 5 News. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  14. ^ Ray, Payne (31 March 2020). "Lake schools closed till May 1, distance-learning continues". Daily Commercial. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  15. ^ Mills, Emily (2020-09-14). "Revere makes late change to online learning provider".
  16. ^ a b c d e Carter, Erik (2021-10-11). "This Virtual Classroom Company Made Millions During The Pandemic While Students Languished". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  17. ^ Allen, Silas (2020-08-31). "Fort Worth's school district wanted to make online classes better. Here's what it did". Star Telegram.com.
  18. ^ Griffith, Kristen (27 March 2020). "St. Mary's online resources viewed as school closure continues". Southern Maryland News. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  19. ^ Riddel, Roger (9 July 2014). "Edgenuity CEO talks personalized learning and classroom tech [ISTE]". Education Dive. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  20. ^ Levin, Ari (9 April 2020). "Española Schools Finishing Year Remotely". Rio Grande Sun. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Research-Based Design Certified Products". Digital Promise.
  22. ^ "Edgenuity Pathblazer Awarded Research-Based Design Product Certification by Digital Promise". Cision, PRWeb.
  23. ^ Hood, Micaela (2020-05-01). "Virtual learning gets mixed reviews from Pocono parents". Archived from the original on 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  24. ^ Hosey, Alex (2020-10-13). "ACS parents continue to raise concerns over Edgenuity".
  25. ^ Boneske, Kevin (2020-10-13). "Criticism of virtual curriculum Edgenuity aired in Ashwaubenon".
  26. ^ Hosey, Alex (2020-10-13). "ACS parents continue to raise concerns over Edgenuity".
  27. ^ Greene, Peter (1 April 2020). "As Schools Tackle Coronavirus Pause, Don't Forget Career And Technical Education Students". Forbes. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  28. ^ Chin, Monica (2020-09-03). "These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  29. ^ Smiley, Stephen (25 May 2017). "Just Take It Again". Slate. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  30. ^ Chin, Monica (2020-09-02). "These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat". The Verge.
  31. ^ Paris, Francesca (2020-09-03). "Gaming The Grade: How One Middle Schooler Beat A Virtual Learning Algorithm". wbur.org.
  32. ^ Borg, Linda (2020-09-16). "Frustrating start for Providence virtual learning academy". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
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