Cyber versus Brick and Mortar: Achievement, Attainment, and Postsecondary Outcomes in Pennsylvania Charter High Schools
Abstract
The charter school sector has expanded beyond brick-and-mortar schools to cyber schools, where enrollment grew almost tenfold between 2015 and 2020. While a large literature documents the effects of charter schools on test scores, fewer studies explore impacts on attainment or postsecondary outcomes and there is almost no work exploring the consequences of cyber charter enrollment for these outcomes. In this paper, I examine the impacts of Pennsylvania's charter high schools on student attendance, achievement, graduation, and postsecondary enrollment, distinguishing the impacts of brick-and-mortar from cyber schools. I find that brick-and-mortar charters have no or positive effects across outcomes, and that effects are concentrated in urban districts and among Black and economically disadvantaged students. By contrast, attending a cyber charter is associated with almost universally worse outcomes, with little evidence of heterogeneity. Students who enroll in a cyber charter at the beginning of ninth grade are 9.5 percentage points (pp) less likely to graduate, 16.8 pp less likely to enroll in college, and 15.2 pp less likely to persist in a postsecondary institution beyond one semester. These results suggest that additional regulation and oversight of cyber charter schools is warranted and also bring into question the efficacy of online education.
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The any-college (-6.4 pp) and 4-year college (-8.0 pp) effects for virtual charter students were smaller in magnitude than the corresponding Pennsylvania effects (-16.8 and -15.8 pp).
“The likelihood of attending any college (-6.4 percentage points ) or 4-year college (-8.0 percentage points), however, was smaller in magnitude than the same outcomes in Pennsylvania (-16.8 and -15.8 percentage points, respectively).”
From The Impacts of Virtual Charter High Schools on Secondary and Postsecondary Outcomes: Opening Up the Black Box (2025) · cites this paper as Cordes, 2024
The study used an ordinary least squares model controlling for baseline achievement to net out residual baseline differences not addressed by matching.
“In our analysis described in the following, we net out any small remaining differences on test scores and a host of other baseline covariates not part of the matching process by employing an ordinary least squares model controlling for baseline achievement.”
From The Impacts of Virtual Charter High Schools on Secondary and Postsecondary Outcomes: Opening Up the Black Box (2025) · cites this paper as Cordes, 2024
The high school-level negative outcomes for virtual charter students-4-year graduation (-12.6 pp) and dropout (9.7 pp)-were similar in magnitude to findings from Pennsylvania.
“The negative outcomes at the high school level-graduation in 4 years (-12.6 percentage points) and dropout (9.7 percentage points)-were similar in magnitude as the findings from Pennsylvania (Cordes, 2024).”
From The Impacts of Virtual Charter High Schools on Secondary and Postsecondary Outcomes: Opening Up the Black Box (2025) · cites this paper as Cordes, 2024
Cordes (2024) found that students who enrolled in a Pennsylvania virtual charter school in ninth grade were 9.5 percentage points less likely to graduate high school.
“In fact, the only published study to date comes from Pennsylvania, where Cordes (2024) found that students who enrolled in one of the state's virtual charter schools in ninth grade were 9.5 percentage points less likely to graduate high school.”
From The Impacts of Virtual Charter High Schools on Secondary and Postsecondary Outcomes: Opening Up the Black Box (2025) · cites this paper as Cordes (2024)
Cordes (2024) found that virtual charter students were 16.8 percentage points less likely to enroll in college and 15.2 percentage points less likely to persist in college beyond one semester.
“In addition, virtual charter students were 16.8 percentage points less likely to enroll in college and 15.2 percentage points less likely to persist in college beyond one semester.”
From The Impacts of Virtual Charter High Schools on Secondary and Postsecondary Outcomes: Opening Up the Black Box (2025) · cites this paper as Cordes (2024)
Cites
Getting Beneath the Veil of Effective Schools: Evidence From New York City
Dobbie, W., & Fryer, R. G. (2013) · American Economic Journal: Applied Economics · doi:10.1257/app.5.4.28 · Cited by 352 · see citing works
Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition
Zimmer, R., Gill, B., Booker, K., Lavertu, S., Sass, T., & Witte, J. (2009) · doi:10.7249/mg869 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
Student Enrollment Patterns and Achievement in Ohio’s Online Charter Schools
Ahn, J., & McEachin, A. (2017) · Educational Researcher · doi:10.3102/0013189x17692999 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from US School Districts
Jack, R., Halloran, C., Okun, J., & Oster, E. (2023) · American Economic Review: Insights · doi:10.1257/aeri.20210748 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
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Ferrare, J. J., Waddington, R. J., Zimmer, R., & Berends, M. (2025) · Educational Researcher · doi:10.3102/0013189x251337417 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cordes, S. A.
- Affiliations
- Temple University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cordes, Sarah A.
- ORCID
- Cordes, Sarah A.
- Venue
- Education Finance and Policy
- Publisher
- MIT Press
- Published
- 2024
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 361-384
- ISSN
- 1557-3060 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-3079
- OpenAlex
- W4319347463
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 7.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Education Finance and Policy (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
- Social Sciences › Education › Diverse Education Studies and Reforms
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Educational Assessment and Improvement
- Keywords
- cyber charter schools, online learning, charter schools, high school graduation, college enrollment, student attendance, academic performance, urban districts, Black students, low-income students, Pennsylvania
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