'It takes a pretty highly motivated student'
Mathison and classmate Megan Fredberg take AP U.S. history through a provider that links them with a teacher in Seattle. They study together in a computer lab at their school in Hartford. Both see advantages in the online setting but also the drawbacks.
"If you ask a question, you sometimes wait a day for a response," said Fredberg, 17. "It's kind of hard to communicate. We can call him, but he wants us to e-mail him."
Response time varies case to case, but remoteness itself is a challenge in that format.
"It's online, in chat rooms and not seeing face to face. It takes a pretty highly motivated student to do that," said Tim Pflanz, principal at Tri-Valley. His school will offer AP calculus next fall because of student interest. Others will take AP courses online.
"They're just highly motivated individuals seeing an opportunity to take college-level classes and the chance to make $100 without getting charged for taking the test," Pflanz said.
The format, though, fits many students.
"Look at current student demographics. They want 24-7 access," said Cundy, the principal at the NSU center who also teaches online. "I have a student who got a 5 on AP calculus. He liked to do all his assignments on Saturdays. Many of my e-mails come in after 10 at night, often after midnight. If I'm in a school setting, those questions aren't getting asked."
