Students, teachers have financial incentives
Online learning has been around for several years. The state's virtual high school, a clearinghouse at the Department of Education in Pierre, has coordinated online classes for about 1,700 South Dakota students since it opened last year.
The Learning Power program seeks to intensify the effort at the Advanced Placement level. Students now in AP classes are free to skip the spring exam. Under this program, the exam is required, not optional. Communication between teacher and student will not be simultaneous, in a bow to modern study habits, and participants will get a financial boost. Students will not have to pay the testing fee, about $80, and if they pass the test, both they and their teachers will receive $100.
The tests are graded on a scale from 1 to 5. To get college credit, a student must score at least a 3.
One student planning to participate is Darrah Bjorklund, 17, a junior at Arlington High School. She'll take AP physics online to prepare for majoring in aeronautical engineering at the University of North Dakota.
"I want to push myself and excel," she said.
In Hartford, Ryne Mathison, 16, a junior at West Central High School, might try AP physics online as a senior to prepare for a computer engineering major in college. The $100 payoff is not a deal-maker, he said. Still, the testing bonus is attractive with college expenses ahead.
"A hundred dollars makes you that much closer. It's an incentive," he said.
