The top reported proficiency rate is 17% in Science. The lowest is 7% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Virtual Preparatory Academy of Oklahoma
Virtual Preparatory Academy of Oklahoma is a statewide, full-time online charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade, with its administrative address in Oklahoma City. The school is part of the Virtual Preparatory Academy (CHARTER) district. Because it is a virtual school, the typical geographic boundaries and neighborhood context that families consider with a brick-and-mortar school do not apply in the same way; enrollment is open to students across Oklahoma, and the learning environment is based at home rather than at a physical campus.
The school is small, with an enrollment that is spread fairly evenly across the elementary and middle grades. The student body is predominantly white, with Black students making up the next largest group, followed by Hispanic students and a small share who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available; a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of support for students with different learning needs.
State assessment results, where they could be reported, show a picture that families will want to examine closely. In nearly every tested grade and subject, the share of students scoring proficient was low. In fourth-grade math, for example, a small percentage of students met the proficiency bar, and the rates were even lower in fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. Reading scores followed a similar pattern: a modest percentage of fourth graders were proficient, and the rate fell sharply by sixth and seventh grade. Eighth-grade reading was slightly higher but still well below typical levels. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grades, also showed low proficiency. Some grade-level results were suppressed to protect student privacy, which is common with small testing groups. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages performance across all tested subjects and grades, placed it in the bottom quartile among districts in Oklahoma County. State testing cut scores in math and English language arts changed in the most recent year, which means these results cannot be directly compared to prior years, and it is not yet clear how the new benchmarks affect the picture.
Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That is not a gap in performance but simply a function of the grade band.
The school offers no on-site athletics, fine arts facilities, or in-person extracurriculars of the kind families expect from a traditional school. What it provides instead is flexibility: students work from home on a curriculum delivered online, with state-certified teachers providing instruction and support remotely. This model can work well for families who need a non-traditional schedule, who are engaged in frequent travel, who prefer a home-based learning environment, or whose children have health or other circumstances that make daily attendance at a physical school difficult. It also places a heavy responsibility on a parent or guardian to act as a learning coach, especially at the elementary level.
Oklahoma City, where the school’s administrative office is located, is a large, sprawling state capital with an economy built on oil and gas, government, aviation, and the livestock trade. The city is spread over a vast land area, and outside the downtown core it is almost entirely car-dependent. Housing values in the area have declined recently against a backdrop of rising rents, but since the school is virtual, a family’s choice of where to live is not constrained by a school attendance zone.
There were no recent district-level changes reported that meet the bar for lasting impact, so this profile reflects the school as it currently stands. A parent considering Virtual Preparatory Academy of Oklahoma should weigh the low academic performance data against the flexibility the model provides and discuss with the school how it supports students who are below grade level and what its academic goals are for the coming years.
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