Guest Commentary: John Fensterwald of Educated Guess Bluntly Says--California is 'Dead Last in Digital Ed'

John Fensterwald is a veteran California journalist who has covered state education matters for decades. He now runs a blog called Educated Guess for the Silicon Valley Education Foundation.
This week he posted a viewpoint on where the Golden State stands as far a digital education.
"California is a backwater for K-12 online learning, according to a new analysis of states’ policies toward virtual education. Other states are clearing away obstacles and adopting innovative strategies, such as allowing middle school students to take high school courses online and letting students start online courses anytime and complete them whenever they show competency. California is stuck in the past, imposing the standard calendar and student-teacher ratios on a virtual world," Fensterwald writes.
Using the Digital Learning Now report card, Fensterwald added: "Brian Bridges, director of the California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) and a font of knowledge on digital courses, did calculate the states’ individual totals. Out of a possible score of 72, Utah and Wyoming topped the states with 49. The median was 27, he reports in his blog. With 14 points, California was last."
Click here to read Fensterwald's complete post, which includes suggestions on how California can muscle to the head of the digital learning pack.
Click here to read how Brian Bridges calculated rankings for California and other states using the Digital Learning Report Card.