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April 16, 2001
Vol. IV, Issue 2

Choice Breeds Success

Americans are not becoming better readers. According to the Reading 2000 Report Card of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), average scores for 4th graders have remained flat, with one key difference - those who need help the most have lost ground. The problem is greatest in America 's cities where 47% of public school students read below a basic level.

However, two sectors of America's educational system do show improvement, private schools and charter schools. Both of these types of schools are highly accountable to their clientele. Both risk going out of business if they fail to educate students and please parents.

In Arizona, charter school success has been documented in a study commissioned by The Goldwater Institute. The study, conducted by Lewis Solmon, Ph.D., Kern Paark, and David Garcia, is thought provoking in its analysis of student progress in relationship to student attendance in charter and district schools. Statistics are the meat of the report, but the introduction and the conclusion are the vehicles that drive home the importance of charter schools. By analyzing student academic growth as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition, the study finds that: ·

 "In general, charter schools have a greater positive impact on test scores than traditional public schools."
· "The longer the student is in a charter school, the greater the positive effect."
· "Regardless of mobility, spending all three years in the charter sector was better than three stable years in a traditional public school."
(Copies are available at www.azschoolchoice.org )

There are humans behind this compelling statistical analysis. A high school student goes from Cs and Ds in a large district school to valedictorian in a small, self-chosen charter school in south Phoenix. A middle school student progresses 4.5 years in just two years at a central Phoenix charter school. A young man in a southwest Phoenix charter school progresses from a first grade reading level to success at a sixth grade level in just one year.

Why were charter schools able to help these students? In each case the school was based on a founder's heartfelt belief in an educational philosophy, the staff was hired in support of the philosophy, small classes prevented students from falling through the proverbial cracks, and the family chose the school.

Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center, a charter high school, creates an atmosphere of high academic expectations. Working in partnership with a local junior college, the charter school graduates most students with several college credits. Over the past three years, all but one of its graduates has gone on to a college or university.

While expanding to serve students in grades K-8, Bennett Academy has specialized in meeting the academic and developmental needs of students in grades 6-8. Bennett Academy uses a traditional curriculum working hand-in-hand with the arts and innovative scheduling and programs to reach students. The middle school student who made the terrific reading progress summed up the school when she said, "I was headed in the wrong direction. They helped a lot. They cared."

Liberty Traditional Charter School is only in its second year of operation, but it uses the age-old methods of traditional education. Structure, a strong phonics program, low student teacher ratio, and effective use of bi-lingual aides in the classroom help all students. They have grown from 55 students to 175 in a single year because parents recognize that when student scores are low, making progress is what counts.

Success has come to these students because market based schools face competition, accountability, and parental choice.


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View CMBE's Arizona Charter School Report Cards at:
http://www.azschoolchoice.org

Join The Bellwether Charter School Forum and voice your opinions and
concerns regarding current charter school issues:
http://www.free-market.net/forums/bellwether/

The Bellwether is a bi-monthly newsletter written by Cuyler Reid.
We welcome your comments and suggestions: info@cmbe.org
Goldwater Institute http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org
Center for Market-Based Education http://www.azschoolchoice.org

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