School Choice

The Harlem Children's Zone, Promise Neighborhoods and the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education
The Brookings Institution releases a  report on the Harlem School Zone and its effectiveness. You can also read Geoffrey Canada's response to the Brookings report here. The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, July 23, 2010

The National Study of Charter Management Organization (CMO) Effectiveness: Report on Interim Findings
The Center on Reinventing Public Education and (CRPE) and Mathematica Policy Research has released a report that finds non-profit organizations that manage many of the nation's public charter schools are implementing many innovative practices, but they also face significant challenges in extending their reach. (CRPE) and Mathematica Policy Research, June 28, 2010

Drivers of Choice: Parents, Transportation, and School Choice
The Center on Reinventing Public schools takes a look at transportation and school choice issues in its latest report. Paul Teske, Jody Fitzpatrick, Tracey O'Brien, July 2009

Race to the Top? The Promise--and Challenges--of Charter School Growth
The American Enterprise Institute released this report analyzing the challenges schools face balancing fast growth while maintaining a standard of excellence and other issues. 4/6/2009

Are Private High Schools Better Academically Than Public High Schools?
The study released by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) examines 12 years of data that finds students who attended private schools didn't have much of an advantage over their peers who attended public high schools in regard to test scores, career happiness, and civic engagement. Family involvement is key and the study finds that low-income students from urban public high schools generally did as well if they had a good support system.
Center on Education Policy (CEP) - Harold Wenglinsky, 10/10/2007

Smart Charter School Caps pdf
Public charter schools have experienced relatively rapid growth. This study examines how charter schools can grow without losing overall quality for students.
Education Sector - Andrew J. Rotherham, 9/25/2007

Charter Schools Indicators pdf
Like other public schools, California charter schools are judged primarily by one measure: student test scores. The report aims to transform "data submitted to the state for compliance purposes into a tool for school improvement and accountability."
Center on Educational Governance at University of Southern California - Priscilla Wohlstetter, 6/14/2007

The Condition of Education 2007
High school students in the United States are taking more courses in mathematics and science, as well as social studies, the arts, and foreign languages, according to an analysis of high school student coursework that is highlighted in this government report. Statistics on student achievement, school environment and a wide range of other topics related to early childhood education through postsecondary education are also included.
by National Center for Education Statistics, 5/1/2007

The Autonomy Gap
Public school principals encounter a sizable gap between the autonomy they believe they need to be effective and the autonomy that they actually have in practice, especially when it comes to hiring, firing, and transferring teachers. That's a key finding of this report from the Fordham Institute and the American Institutes for Research, which is based on a series of interviews with a small sample of district and charter-school principals.
by Steven Adamowski, 4/11/2007

Making Sense of Charter School Studies: A Reporter's Guide
This brief is designed to help reporters evaluate the quality of charter school achievement studies by explaining complex analytic problems in plain language and offering critical consumer questions. It can also be used to interpret general education research.
by National Charter Schools Research Project, 3/1/2007

L.A. Story: Can a Parent Revolution Change Urban Education's Power Structure?
Steve Barr, the founder and chief executive of a nonprofit network of Los Angeles charter schools, is rallying thousands of mostly Latino parents to the cause of school reform and using that political clout to force changes in the 727,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the nation's second-largest school system.
Education Sector - Joe Williams and Tom Mirga, 7/25/2006

The Education Flatline: Causes and Solutions pdf
With the release of its annual Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI), the Foundation for Child Development and Kenneth Land of Duke University found that once again children's performance in the education domain was flat - a trend that has continued for 30 years. This report recommends four areas of reform - preK-3 implementation; charter schools; national standards for curriculum, and tests; and the training of high quality teachers.
Foundation for Child Development - Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill, 3/28/2006

America's Charter Schools
The report on charter school performance on the NAEP test that caused controversy in August 2004 is finally released. Charter school students, in the 2003 NAEP fourth grade reading and math tests, don't perform any better than regular public school students.
12/16/2004

A Straightforward Comparison of Charter Schools and Public Schools
pdf Harvard economist Caroline Hoxby takes a look at how charter schools students do compared to regular public school students in nearby schools and finds that charter school students do score higher on their state tests than regular students in reading and math -- except in North Carolina.
Harvard University - Caroline Hoxby, 9/13/2004

Cashing In On Kids

The Miami Herald has an ongoing series of stories looking at charter schools in Florida. Among the issues it examines: The lack of check and balances for companies running charter schools; the lack of access to charter schools for special education students; and demographic imbalances. State Impact Florida/NPR collaborated on some of the stories. Kathleen McGrory and Scott Hiassen, Miami Herald; John O’Connor and Sarah Gonzalez, State Impact Florida

Florida Charter Schools: Big Money, Little Oversight

The state's charter school movement has grown into $400-million-a-year powerhouse backed by real-estate developers and promoted by politicians, but with little oversight. Scott Hiaasen and Kathleen McGrory, Miami Herald, Dec. 10, 2011

Troubled Schools in Houston Try Mimicking the Charters

In the first experiment of its kind in the country, the Houston public schools are testing whether techniques proven successful in high-performing urban charters can also help raise achievement in regular public schools. Sam Dillon, The New York Times, Sept. 6, 2011

At His Charter School, ex-Los Angeles Teachers Union Head Would Target Tenure

A.J. Duffy, the longtime anti-charter crusader, wants to make it harder for teachers to earn tenure protections and wants to lengthen that process. He even wants to require teachers to demonstrate that they remain effective in the classroom if they want to keep their tenure protections. Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 1, 2011

Segregation Nation

Omaha’s radical experiment in school integration could serve as a national model—though local resistance indicates it might be a tough sell. Sharon Lerner, American Prospect, June 20, 2011

Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas

TDM Contracting was only a month old when it won its first job, an $8.2 million contract to build the Harmony School of Innovation, a publicly financed charter school that opened last fall in San Antonio. It was one of six big charter school contracts TDM and another upstart company have shared since January 2009, a total of $50 million in construction business. Other companies scrambling for work in a poor economy wondered: How had they qualified for such big jobs so fast? Stephanie Saul, New York Times, June 6, 2011

School Voucher Debate Heats Back Up

The Indiana voucher program will take state support of private education into new territory: the middle class. These programs are typically available only to low-income or disabled students, but Ohio's plan will give some public support to families earning as much as $61,000 a year. Larry Abramson, NPR, May 6, 2011

Florida Charters Less Diverse Than Other Public Schools

Segregation is making a comeback in Florida's public schools with the new wave of charter schools springing up across the state. Dave Weber, Orlando Sentinel, April 30, 2011

New school data reveal worrisome trends

As a group, Illinois' public school children are fewer in number, increasingly poor, more diverse and more likely than in recent years to spend the entire school year at the same building, according to new data. Tara Malone and Darnell Little, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 23, 2011

Charter schools expand with public, private money

Nationwide, less than 4 percent of public school students are enrolled in charters, but that number is expected to rise significantly because of increased financial and political support. More than a dozen states loosened restrictions on charters over the past year for a chance to win a share of the federal $4.3 billion Race to the Top school reform competition. Associated Press, Jan. 21, 2011

Poll: Most want easier way to fire bad teachers

An overwhelming majority of Americans are frustrated that it's too difficult to get rid of bad teachers, while most also believe that teachers aren't paid enough, a new poll shows. Associated Press, Dec. 14, 2010

Jeb Bush's Influence on Education Policy Spreads

In state capitals across the country, numerous lawmakers and officeholders say they are determined to follow the ambitious and often polarizing education blueprint fashioned by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, during his two terms as Florida’s governor. Sean Cavanagh, Education Week, Dec. 29, 2010

Funds Misuse, Nepotism Feared at Texas Charter Schools

The hope is that grass-roots nonprofit groups can create niche public schools that provide new and exciting educational choices for parents and students. The fear is that the freedoms granted to charter schools allow hefty salaries, nepotism and potential abuse of the public's money. Holly K. Hacker, Dallas Morning News, Dec. 19, 2010

In Hard Times Small Schools Must Change To Survive

Oregon’s recent financial woes have pushed some of the state’s smallest school districts to make some huge changes.Twelve of the state’s 16 smallest districts have become charter school districts. Administrators say the additional grant funding and flexibility are keeping their doors open.Rob Manning, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Dec. 15, 2010

What Happens When A Charter School Fails?

California leads the nation in charter school growth this year, according to a report released last month by The Center for Education Reform. But far less attention has been paid to the closure rate of charter schools.In California, there have been 150 closures since in 1992, when the state’s charter school law was enacted, and 72 in just the past three years. Bertha Rodriguez Santos, Translated by Elena Shore, New America Media, Dec. 13, 2010

Charter Schools with Ties to Religious Groups Raise Concerns

Church-charter partnerships are springing up across the country as private institutions lose funding and nontraditional education models grow in popularity. Their emergence prompts questions about the role religious groups should play in the development of publicly funded schools. Jessica Meyers, Dallas Morning News, Nov. 22, 2010

One in 10 Chicago Charter School Students Transfers Out

A joint investigation by Catalyst Chicago and WBEZ-Chicago found a complicated dynamic: A higher percentage of students transfer out and are expelled from charter schools than from traditional schools. Yet interviews with parents and students reveal support for tough rules, and do not support the notion that charters are inordinately “pushing out” children with behavior or academic problems.Listen to WBEZ's Linda Lutton's story. Sarah Karp, Catalyst Chicago, Nov. 9, 2010

Texas' top charter schools demand more from students, parents, teachers

Recently released 2010 ratings and TAKS scores show that Texas charter schools are more likely to earn either the very best or worst state ratings – exemplary or unacceptable – than regular public schools. This also holds true for the more than 120 charter schools in North Texas. Holly Hacker, Dallas Morning News, Sept. 20, 2010

Enrollment Slide Continues at Michigan County's Private Schools

Kalamazoo County’s private schools continued to be battered by the economy and demographics, with most schools reporting enrollment drops this year. Julie Mack, Kalamazoo Gazette, Sept. 20, 2010

Minnesota districts cutting ties to charter schools
A new state law is leading school districts -- and the Minnesota Department of Education -- to cut ties with charter schools, which enroll 33,000 students. Gregory A. Patterson, Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 31, 2010

First All-Male Charter Sends Entire Class To College
Chicago's only all-male charter school, Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men - Englewood Campus, is graduating its first class this year. Every member of the class has been accepted to a four-year university. Guest host Allison Keyes speaks with the school's president and CEO Tim King and graduating senior Tyler Beck about how they did it. Allison Keyes, Tell Me More, National Public Radio, March 25, 2010

New Orleans charter schools work to sustain teachers' energy, results
Early every morning, Akili Academy's teachers gather for a daily bonding ritual. A growing number of schools particularly charters, embrace a "no excuses" or "whatever it takes" attitude toward closing the achievement gap between poor, minority students and their wealthier peers. But to overcome these obstacles, a school's staff and students must work harder -- in the evenings, on weekends and through the summer -- and give up some of their personal lives for their jobs. Sarah Carr, Times- Picayune, March 9, 2010

In Middle School, Charting Their Course to College and Beyond
Public schools have long offered their students the same basic academic program, with little real choice aside from foreign languages or an occasional elective in what was a one-size-fits-all approach that drove many families to seek private and charter schools. Winnie Hu, The New York Times, March 1, 2010

Is there a place for special ed in charter schools?
More than a decade into Texas' charter school movement, some politicians want to expand the nontraditional campuses to tap into an underserved market: children with special needs. Jennifer Radcliffe, Houston Chronicle, Feb. 22, 2010

Proposal in Minnesota Legislature: let charter schools own sites
Minnesota charter schools could own their buildings under proposed legislation to overhaul how they secure and use space. Megan Boldt, Pioneer Press, Feb. 19, 2010

Panel vetoes plan for charter schools
A House committee blocked Gov. Bob Riley's efforts to create charter schools in Alabama. The House Education Ap­propriations Committee voted 13-2 Wednesday to in­definitely postpone a bill by Republican Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin of Pelham to au­thorize creation of charter schools. The vote means the bill is probably dead for the current session. Bob Johnson, The Associated Press, Feb. 12, 2010

Alabama officials push charter school proposal
Gov. Bob Riley, state education Superintendent Joe Morton and other state officials will be pushing a proposal in the legislative session that begins today that would allow local school boards to create charter schools. Sebastian Kitchen, Montgomery Advertiser, Jan. 12, 2010

State charter schools program is 'out of control'
Minnesota's charter school movement, which sparked a national rethinking of public schooling nearly two decades ago, has been infected by an out-of-control financing system fueled by junk bonds, insider fees and lax oversight.Tony Kennedy, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Dec. 1, 2009

In Arizona, a laboratory for charter schools yields mixed results
Arizona's flourishing charter school movement underscores the popular appeal of unfettered school choice and the creativity of some educational entrepreneurs. But the state also offers a cautionary lesson as President Obama pushes to dismantle barriers to charter schools elsewhere: It is difficult to promote quantity and quality at the same time. Nick Anderson, The Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2009

School choice is a real test for parents in New Orleans
On a glorious Saturday last March, New Orleans educators descended on the art museum in City Park to plug their programs at the annual school fair. Armed with T-shirts, brochures and giveaways to entice potential students, they set up booths alongside the paintings, sculptures and grand columns of the museum. Only one thing was missing: families. This is the first of a series on school choice in the New Orleans area. Sarr Carr, The Times - Picayune, Nov. 10, 2009

Charter schools grade highest
by James Vaznis
A new study indicates that Boston charter schools significantly outperform the city's traditional schools, but raises new questions about the city's experimental pilot schools, which in many cases posted "ambiguous" or "disconcerting" results.The study examined state standardized test scores for students of similar backgrounds at the three kinds of schools over a four-year period.
The Boston Globe, 1/6/2009

Charter schools create believers by Jaime Sarrio One group of Metro Nashville's public schools is celebrating success while the district as a whole struggles to meet state performance benchmarks. Publicly funded but independently operated, all three of Nashville's charter schools met state standards and had waiting lists at the beginning of this school year for the first time. The Tennessean, 10/13/2008

Middle school for boys part of a trend toward single-sex education
by Liz Bowie
The boys in the seventh-grade classroom wave their hands wildly and squirm in their seats, unable to contain their joy in a competition involving singular and plural nouns. In a struggling East Baltimore neighborhood, the middle-schoolers have begun their second year at an all-boys charter school whose creation marks a distinct shift in thinking about single-sex education in the public schools.
The Baltimore Sun, 10/12/2008

Private-school families feel a financial pinch by Liz F. Kay The pinch of rising food, fuel and other costs is driving more families with children in private and parochial schools to request financial aid, school officials in and around Baltimore say. The Baltimore Sun, 9/9/2008

Leaving the learning at home by Renee C. Lee Once seen by many blacks as something only whites do, home schooling has steadily gained momentum in the black community during the past eight years and is expected to continue to grow, say home school experts. General dissatisfaction with public schools and increased awareness about home schooling are motivating the change. The Houston Chronicle, 8/25/2008

A Teachable Moment by Paul Tough Can a change in the governance model solve the problems affecting New Orleans public schools? School reform leaders and new teacher recruits who flocked to the city after Hurricane Katrina believe it is possible. However, can a school system that has been historically mismanaged for years boost student achievement outside of social change? Read this New York Times Magazine article to see how leaders are handling this urban education experiment. The New York Times Sunday Magazine, 8/15/2008

When Universities Run Schools ... Into the Ground by Elizabeth Redden In the 1990s, a number of universities got into the business of running charter schools, with compelling plans to match the vast intellectual resources of their faculty with the educational and social service needs of impoverished communities. A decade later, the University of South Florida has given up and transferred control of the failing USF Patel Charter School to the local school district last week. Inside HIgher Education, 8/7/2008

The Suburban Chill Toward Charter Schools by Mike Rhee For more than a decade, Chicago's school district has been turning to private companies to help educate its students. That help has come in the form of charter schools. Today, Chicago has 30 such schools. It's a very different picture in the suburbs, where districts have not embraced charter schools. Only two exist in the suburbs. But now, a group in Waukegan, Illinois is hoping to change that. Chicago Public Radio, 7/31/2008

At Magnet School, An Asian Plurality by Michael Alison Chandler Asian American students will outnumber white classmates for the first time in the freshman class at Northern Virginia's most prestigious public magnet school this fall. The rising concentration of Asian Americans at T.J. mirrors demographic trends in other elite math and science magnet schools across the country. The Washington Post, 7/7/2008

Charter school Q & A: 'To familiarize, not proselytize' by Denise Johnson Recently, a Minnesota Department of Education review found that the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy charter school generally complied with separation of church/state rules. The case raised the question: How should matters of faith be handled in public charter schools -- especially when some are designed for cultural or racial groups with a shared religion? Minneaoplis Tribue editorial writer Denise Johnson discussed the issues with a group of charter representatives and other experts. Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/14/2008

Fate of D.C. Voucher Program Darkens by Valerie Strauss and Bill Turque The groundbreaking federal voucher program that enables nearly 2,000 D.C. children to attend private schools is facing an uncertain future in the Democrat-controlled Congress and may well be heading into its final year of operation, according to officials and supporters of the program. The Washington Post, 6/9/2008

Appellate court says a credential is needed to teach children by Maureen Magee A recent state appellate court ruling that it is illegal for thousands of California parents to home-school their children without credentials has resulted in a firestorm of controversy. It is the subject of much speculation on blogs, Web sites and networks that link thousands of home-schoolers statewide. Many parents, educators and even lawyers are unsure exactly what the decision means for the future of homeschoolers in California. San Diego Times, 3/7/2008

At Charter School, Higher Teacher Pay by Elissa Gootman Would six-figure salaries attract better teachers? A New York City charter school set to open in 2009 in Washington Heights will test one of the most fundamental questions in education: Whether significantly higher pay for teachers is the key to improving schools.The school, which will run from fifth to eighth grades, is promising to pay teachers $125,000, plus a potential bonus based on schoolwide performance. The New York Times, 3/7/2008