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Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX™
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Distance education

Overview

  • Influence: Distance education
  • Domain: Technology, School, and Out-of-School Strategies
  • Sub-Domain: Distance/blended
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Likely to have positive impact
  • Influence Definition: Refers to a mode of learning where students and instructors are geographically separated, and instruction is delivered by mail or some external method

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 20
  • Number of studies: 1,178
  • Number of students: 318,571
  • Number of effects: 1,715
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.25
  • Robustness index: 5

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
International Journal of Educational Telecommunications Cavanaugh The effectiveness of interactive distance education technologies in K-12 learning: A meta-analysis. 2001 Interactive distance learning on achievement 19 NA 19 0.13
Teachers College Record Means, Toyama, Murphy, & Baki The effectiveness of online and blended learning: A meta-analysis of the empirical literature 2013 Distance education 27 NA 27 0.05
Classroom communication and instructional processes: Advances through meta-analysis Allen, Bourhis, Mabry, Burrell, & Timmerman Comparing distance education to face-to-face methods of education 2002 Distance vs. traditional teaching 54 74,275 54 0.09
Educational Technology Research and Development Lou, Bernard, & Abrami Media and Pedagogy in Undergraduate Distance Education: A Theory-Based Meta-Analysis of Empirical Literature 2006 Distance education in undergraduates 103 25,320 218 0.02
Teachers College Record Zhao, Lei, Yan, Lai, & Tan What Makes the Difference? A Practical Analysis of Research on the Effectiveness of Distance Education 2005 Distance vs. traditional classes 51 11,477 98 0.10
Review of Educational Research Bernard, Abrami, Borokhovski, & Lou A Meta-Analysis of Three Types of Interaction Treatments in Distance Education 2009 Most interactive distance vs. least interactive distance 34 32,000 74 0.39
Dissertation Roberts Best Instructional Practices for Distance Education: A Meta-Analysis 2011 Web based distance learning 59 NA 86 0.55
American Journal of Distance Education Williams The effectiveness of distance education in allied health science programs: A meta-analysis of outcomes.  2006 Distance in Allied Health Science programs 25 NA 34 0.15
Review of Educational Research Bernard, Abrami, Lou, Wozney, Borokhovski, Wade, Wozney, Wallet, Fiset & Huang How does distance education compare with classroom instruction? A meta-analysis of the empirical literature. 2004 Distance education 232 54,775 318 0.01
Teachers College Record Zhao, Lei, Yan, & Tun What makes the difference? A practical analysis of research on the effectiveness of distance education. 2005 Distance education 98 NA 98 0.10
Learning Point Associates/North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL Cavanaugh, Gillan, Kromrey, Hess, & Blomeyer The Effects of Distance Education on K-12 Student Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis 2004 Distance in all classes 14 7,561 116 -0.03
International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning Shachar & Neumann Differences Between Traditional and Distance Education Academic Performances: A Meta-Analytic Approach 2003 Distance vs. traditional teaching 72 15,300 86 0.37
Journal of Communication Allen, Mabry, Mattrey, Bourhis, Titsworth, & Burrell Evaluating the Effectiveness of Distance Learning: A Comparison Using Meta-Analysis 2004 Distance vs. traditional classes 25 71,731 39 0.10
Journal of Computing in Higher Education Bernard, Borokhovski, Schmid, Tamim & Abrami A meta-analysis of blended learning and technology use in higher education 2014 Distance education 117 NA 117 0.39
American Journal of Distance Education Machtmes & Asher A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of telecourses in distance education 2000 Effectiveness of telecourses 19 NA 19 -0.01
JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association Cook, Levinson, Garside, Dupras, Erwin, & Montori Internet-based learning in the health professions: a meta-analysis. 2008 Distance internet learning 63 26,132 63 0.12
Education and Information Technologies Akin The effectiveness of web-based Mathematics instruction (WBMI) on K-16 students' mathematics learning: a meta-analytic research.  2022 Web based distance learning 63 NA 115 1.10
Medical education online Pei & Wu Does online learning work better than offline learning in undergraduate medical education? A systematic review and meta-analysis 2019 Distance on medical students 14 NA 14 0.68
Conference paper Roberts & Strudler Measuring Aggregate Improvement in Distance Education Outcomes, 1997-2010: A Meta-Analysis. 2013 Distance education 59 NA 86 0.78
Sustainability Alshammary & Alhalafawy Digital platforms and the improvement of learning outcomes: Evidence extracted from meta-analysis.  2023 Distance education 30 NA 34 0.28
TOTAL/AVERAGE 1,178 318,571 1,715 0.27
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