Quote:Some Charter schools are successful and some aren't. On average, Charters schools in the same district (apples to apples) show significantly better results.


 

https://credo.stanford.edu/pdfs/MI_repor...ermark.pdf

 

You understand that there are multiple factors for this, right?

 

1) Charter schools are, for whatever reason, higher in demand.  Many parents believe that the teachers are somehow failing their children (some are, but that's a different argument) and therefore search out an alternative.  As a result, if a child is granted admission to a charter school through lottery or waiting list, the parent is much more motivated to make sure the student stays on top of their work, and the student, therefore, is more motivated to apply him or herself.  This results in higher performance.

 

2) Charter schools are not required to continue to provide education to students who perform poorly or misbehave, but public school are.  Have a problem with a kid not taking care of business?  Kick them out.  This is not an option that is available to public schools, who have serious funding ramifications if students have frequent absences or perform poorly on assessments.  Public schools don't get to pick and choose who they get; they are expected to make lemonade out of lemons.

 

3) Charter schools are not required to take the same assessments as public schools.  This makes any comparative data essentially useless.  

 

Even given these three factors, charter schools still do not consistently outperform public schools the way they theoretically should.  You have one form of schooling that is subject to stringent regulations and is evaluated solely on a single week of the school year, rather than holistically throughout the year, and another that operates entirely outside of regulation and can use any data they so choose to report their progress or lack thereof.

 

I am not saying public schools are perfect.  The system needs top-down reform, starting with some kind of option for consistently low-performing students who don't fit into the system, like an apprenticeship program, where they can learn a trade and actually contribute to society rather than riding the welfare train.

 

I am saying teachers are not the problem, and charter school/school vouchers are not the solution.

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