Is cyber like in-person? Relationships between student-student, student-teacher interaction and student achievement in cyber schools

Abstract

In-person school research showed that student-student and teacher-student interaction were positively related to student learning, yet unexplored for cyber schools (fully online, primary or secondary schools). The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between synchronous student-student interaction, teacher-student interaction, parents’ interaction concerns, and student achievement for 5,458 students enrolled in 34 U.S. cyber schools located in 28 states. To test hypotheses we performed longitudinal analyses of 2017–2020 data using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). Results of our analysis of whether positive relationships exist between student-student and teacher-student synchronous interactions and student academic outcomes showed student-student interactions were positively correlated with scores on math and reading assessments, credits earned, and GPA; teacher-student interactions were correlated positively with scores on reading assessments, but negatively with credits earned and GPA. Results of our analysis of whether an inverse relationship exists between student-level interaction concerns and outcomes showed these student-level interaction concerns were negatively correlated with achievement on state assessments in most cases, and with credits earned and GPA in all cases. Results of our analysis of whether an inverse relationship exists between teacher-level interaction concerns and outcomes showed that some teacher-level interaction concerns were negatively correlated with math achievement, credits earned, and GPA in nearly all cases. Unfortunately, cyber school models typically maximize flexibility for students; yet this may come at the expense of student-student and teacher-student interaction, which in turn may be influenced by interaction concerns. Results suggest the need for future research into the mechanisms behind these various relationships.