Charter school outcomes are mixed as a group, with 17% of charters producing greater academic gains and 37% performing worse than traditional public schools serving similar students¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A large-scale CREDO study of student data from 16 states found 17% of charter schools produced greater academic gains than traditional public schools while 37% performed worse than their traditional public school counterparts serving similar students. → Darling-Hammond 2017 q2 i? Charter outcomes vary across states and are linked to state laws and policies, with stronger outcomes where there are fewer authorizers under more stringent oversight. → Darling-Hammond 2017

Evidence¶

Darling-Hammond 2017¶

Darling-Hammond, L., Rothman, R. & Cookson, P. W., Jr. (2017). Expanding high-quality educational options for all students: How states can create a system of schools worth choosing. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/expanding-high-quality-options

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report describes the CREDO 16-state comparative study of charter versus traditional public school achievement; "the largest share showed no difference." The report also notes newer CREDO feeder-school comparisons find somewhat more positive, though still mixed, results.

"A large-scale study of student data from 16 states, from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University, found that 17% of charter schools produced greater academic gains than traditional public schools, while 37% performed worse than their traditional public school counterparts serving similar students."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• About 41 percent of Idaho charter schools significantly outperform their traditional schooling alternatives in both reading and math — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Charter school students show more annual learning growth in reading and math than matched traditional public school peers — related
• Idaho charter school students show stronger reading growth than matched TPS peers, with no significant difference in math growth — related
• Black charter students outperform their Black TPS peers in reading (about 24 additional days) but both groups lag the average White TPS student substantially — related
• New Mexico charter school students make similar one-year growth in reading and math as their traditional public school virtual twins — related
• Charter school entrants have similar or lower achievement than incumbents in all studied cities, suggesting no cream skimming — related
• South Carolina charter students show similar reading growth but weaker math growth than traditional public school peers, with a math disadvantage of 53 fewer days of learning per year — related
• About 30 percent of South Carolina charter schools outperform traditional alternatives in reading and 15 percent in math, while 22 percent and 33 percent underperform — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Charter school quality varies greatly, and virtual charters perform significantly worse, while charters often increase segregation and underrepresent students with disabilities — a broader claim this one bears on
• Virtual charter schools show far lower achievement, with students losing the equivalent of half a year of learning in reading and a full year in mathematics — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Average charter schools perform about the same as nearby traditional public schools, with large variation in effects — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Charter school learning gains have risen across CREDO's three national studies — related
• Charter students receiving special education services show smaller learning gains than matched traditional public school peers — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Charter schools in many of the 10 studied cities make overall positive contributions to students' learning growth relative to state averages — reports the opposite