Charter school quality varies greatly, and virtual charters perform significantly worse, while charters often increase segregation and underrepresent students with disabilities¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2–r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Studies consistently find great variation in charter achievement, with virtual and distance-learning charter students performing significantly worse than counterparts in other charters and district schools. → Cookson 2018 q2 i? Charters tend to increase racial isolation, and students with disabilities are underrepresented in charter schools. → Cookson 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Cookson 2018¶

Cookson, P. W., Jr., Darling-Hammond, L., Rothman, R., & Shields, P. M. (2018). The tapestry of American public education: How we can create a system of schools worth choosing for all? Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/tapestry-american-public-education

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report's review of charter school research, covering more than 6,700 charter schools enrolling 2.7 million students in 44 states and DC. It specifically flags virtual and distance-learning charters as significantly worse performing.

"Studies of charter school quality have consistently found great variation in student achievement, with some performing better than district schools and others performing similarly or worse."

Cookson 2018 (2)¶

Cookson, P. W., Jr., Darling-Hammond, L., Rothman, R., & Shields, P. M. (2018). The tapestry of American public education: How we can create a system of schools worth choosing for all? Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/tapestry-american-public-education

q2 · i? · review · r3

The report's review of access and integration studies, including a 2010 Civil Rights Project finding that Black charter students were twice as likely to be in intensely segregated settings, and California research finding 20% of charters illegally restricted access for high-need students.

"Studies have also shown that students with disabilities are underrepresented in charter schools."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The average charter school performs about the same as nearby traditional public schools, but charter effects vary greatly — a broader claim this one bears on
• 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 — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• 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
• Charter students' math disadvantage is concentrated in the first two growth periods, with performance similar to VCR peers by 2016-2017 — 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
• Schools in the United States have resegregated since 1988, with the share of intensely segregated non-white schools more than tripling from about 6% to 19% of all public schools