Andy Berke criticizes 'dismal' scores of for-profit virtual school

photo Andy Berke

NASHVILLE - Sen. Andy Berke is calling on lawmakers to conduct a "thorough review" of a for-profit virtual school operating in a Northeast Tennessee school district, citing state student testing results he charges show "dismal" results.

Berke, D-Chattanooga, is a frequent critic of K12 Inc.'s Tennessee Virtual Academy, which in the 2011-12 school year opened its online school under contract with the Union County Public Schools system.

According to best estimates from K12, about 1,800 K-8 students from across the state signed up last school year to sit at their home computers and take courses online with support from K12 teachers. The company operates in states across the country.

In a letter Wednesday to Senate Education Committee Chairman Delores Gresham, Berke says state Education Department testing data for the 2011-12 school year show Tennessee Virtual Academy students "performed in the bottom 11 percent of schools statewide.

"As

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