Table of Contents
Do charter schools perform worse than public schools?
The most rigorous studies conducted to date have found that charter schools are not, on average, better or worse in student performance than the traditional public school counterparts. Some of charter schools significantly outperform their counterparts in traditional districts.
How do charter schools differ from public schools?
The Difference Between Charter and Public Rather than being part of a public school district, which dictates curriculum and standards in all schools, charters operate autonomously through individual agreements, or charters, with state or local governments that dictate rules and performance standards.
What do charter schools do differently?
The Difference Between Charter and Public Charter schools are publicly-funded, tuition-free schools, but they differ from traditional public schools in key ways. In return for that flexibility, charter schools are supposed to be more accountable to parents and the state or local governments that authorize them.
What are arguments against charter schools?
They contend that charters inadequately serve children with special needs. Charter schools suspend children with disabilities at a higher rate than public schools, and there have been many cases of inadequacy due to a lack of resources, experience, and insensitivity.
How do charter schools affect public education?
According to Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes, charter school students improve more quickly in reading and math—especially in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, and particularly among black students, Hispanic students, and students living in poverty.
How do charter schools perform compared to traditional public schools?
The key takeaway is that charter school students, in general, perform about the same as their matched peers in the traditional public schools, but there is variation across different types of schools and groups of students.
Which US presidents have supported charter schools?
While the last four U.S. presidents—Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump—all expressed support for charter schools, support is splintering along party lines. About 3 million students attend charter schools across 43 states and the District of Columbia.
How many students attend charter schools in the US?
About 3 million students attend charter schools across 43 states and the District of Columbia. Compared to traditional public schools, a disproportionate share of charter school students are Hispanic (33\%) or Black (26\%).
Who can serve as an authorizer—like many aspects of charter school law—varies from state to state. If the authorizer approves the proposal, it creates a contract (“charter”) with the school’s governing board that describes the school’s rights, responsibilities, and performance expectations.