Jefferson Review

"Your Liberty is Our Interest"

Home /  Archives / Links / Quotes / Book Reviews / Advertise /Contact us / Subscribe / Calendar

Charter schools provide a rising tide

The Bluegrass Institute

Despite a growing amount of research showing the positive impact being made by charter schools, critics recently were buoyed by a study from the U.S. Department of Education that portrayed a less-than-favorable comparison to public schools.

Yet the study performed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is likely flawed. NAEP’s approach does not properly control for the exclusion of certain student groups, particularly limited English and learning-disabled students, according to Richard Innes, an analyst with the Bluegrass Institute.

“This can have a dramatic impact on scores and comparisons,” Innes said. “For example, with NAEP, it is not known if the number of learning disabled students was higher, lower or the same as public schools.”

In fact, a growing stream of credible evidence indicates that charter schools are providing parents with choices that are spurring dramatic education improvements in many states.

Caroline Hoxby, an economics professor at Harvard University, reported recently that charter-school students are 5.2 percent more likely to be proficient in reading and 3.2 percent more likely to be proficient in math on their state’s exams. According to Hoxby, the longer a charter school has been in operation, the greater the proficiency advantage it tends to have over its public counterpart.

In an earlier study, Hoxby credited Arizona’s charter schools with causing the fourth-grade math and reading scores of public schools to increase by 1.4 national percentile points. Not only were these improvements above their achievement trends before charter schools opened, they also represent progress made during the same period by public schools that did not face charter competition.

Not only are a majority of charter schools offering a more satisfying experience in the eyes of parents and a quality education for their students, they also provide the proverbial rising tide that lifts all boats.

Sources:

“A straightforward comparison of charter schools and regular public schools in the United States” by Caroline M. Hoxby, Harvard University and the National Bureau of Economic Research

“Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program: Final Report,” U.S. Department of Education

“Rising Tide” by Caroline Hoxby, Education Next

The Bluegrass Institute is an independent research and educational institution offering free-market solutions to Kentucky's most pressing problems.

Weather (Louisville) / Mapquest /  White Pages / Business Search / CNN / Dictionary / E-card / MSN