Education - Charter Schools
by: Jerry Price - Aug 1, 2005 - comment
“What is a charter school? A charter school is a nonsectarian public school of choice that operates with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The ‘charter’ establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school’s mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are granted for 3-5 years. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school’s contract. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor—usually a state or local school board—to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. The basic concept of charter schools is that they exercise increased autonomy in return for this accountability. They are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them, and the public that funds them.”
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, (US Charter Schools) [Accessed April 8, 2005]
Michigan Charter School Facts
- Families of 82,000 students have chosen Michigan’s 216 charter public schools for the 2004-05 school year. More than 4,400 teachers—who must be certified according to state law—choose to work in charter public schools. More than half of the schools have nearly 90 percent or more of their teachers fully certified.
- Nearly 85 percent of the state’s charter schools saw increases or had steady enrollment for the 2003-04 school year. More than two-thirds have waiting lists—15 with lists of 200 to 900 children.
- Nearly 95 percent of all charters offer middle and/or high-school grades, including 29 that serve high school only.
- About 9 percent of charter students have special needs—up from 6 percent a year ago. State average is 14 percent. The number grows annually as parents opt for charters’ increased individual attention and higher expectations for all students. Charters are helping students conquer learning challenges, complete their individualized education plans and become successful in the regular classroom.
- Charters receive a per-pupil grant of about $6,800—equal to or below the average of surrounding districts (often thousands of dollars less) and saving Michigan taxpayers $77 million a year based on current enrollment. Charters do not receive millage funds or any separate monies for maintenance or construction.
- While receiving less funding, charters offer more specialized classes, one-on-one attention, more frequent student assessments and programs for students and parents. Many have extended school days and/or extended school years. Many also require and provide more professional development and training for their teachers.
- Charters showed greater gains or tied the state average in seven of 10 grades/subjects on the 2004 MEAPs (Michigan Educational Assessment Program).
- Most charters saw improved 2004 MEAPs; about 70 percent increased both their cumulative 4th- and 8th-grade scores.
- Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids charters outpaced the traditional districts in most grades/subjects by as much as 10-26 percentage points.
- Eighty-three percent of people aged 30 to 49—those most likely to have school-age children—support charters, according to a December 2002 MSU poll. Of all those surveyed, 72 percent support charters—up from 62 percent in 1999.
Michigan Charter Public Schools 101—A Primer, (Michigan Association of Public School Acadamies) [Accessed April 8, 2005]
A study by Caroline Hoxby, a Harvard economist, provides good news for charter schools. A summary of her findings follows.
“Caroline Hoxby’s study shows that charter school students are more likely to be proficient in math and reading than students in the nearest comparable public school. Overall, charter students have proficiency rates that are 5.2 percent higher than their public school counterparts in reading and 3.2 percent higher in math.
“Further, Hoxby’s study shows that charter school students’ gains in academic achievement, relative to their public-school counterparts, tend to increase as the charter schools mature. In other words, charter schools are pulling away from public schools in terms of performance. For example, children at charter schools that have been operating for 1 to 4 years are 2.5 percent more proficient in reading than students in the nearest comparable public school. That proficiency advantage increases to 5.2 percent for charter schools open 5 to 8 years, and to 10.1 percent for charter schools operating 9 to 11 years. This indicates that the full potential of charter schools may not be realized until after a number of years of operation.
“This makes sense. Like other new schools, charter schools must contend with start-up issues like hiring teachers and administrators, selecting a curriculum, and securing facilities. Additionally, charter schools tend to attract the very students whom their previous public schools left behind. As Hoxby notes, ‘Affluent parents whose children are doing fine in suburban schools rarely send them to fledgling charter schools.’
“Many charter schools in minority and high-poverty areas show even greater achievement gains. For example, students of charter schools in Hispanic areas have a 7.6 percent advantage in reading, and charters in African-American areas have a 4.5 percent advantage, compared to a 4.2 percent advantage for students in charter schools in other areas.
“Similarly, students at charters in high-poverty areas have a reading proficiency advantage of 6.5 percent, compared with a 2.6 percent advantage for students in other charter schools. This suggests that charter schools have the most promise in the areas that have the greatest need for innovative educational reforms.”
Jennifer A. Marshall and Kirk A. Johnson, New Research Brings Good News About Charter Schools, (The Heritage Foundation), December 14, 2004
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