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¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? In a typical school year, South Carolina charter students experience lower academic progress than their TPS peers in mathematics, equivalent to 53 fewer days of learning, while reading growth differences are not statistically significant. → CREDO 2019

Evidence¶

CREDO 2019¶

CREDO, Center for Research on Education Outcomes, Stanford University. (2019). Charter School Performance in South Carolina. https://credo.stanford.edu/reports/item/charter-school-performance-in-south-carolina-2019-2/

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Statewide quasi-experimental analysis comparing matched charter students' one-year learning gains with Virtual Control Records built from feeder TPS students; the math disadvantage equals "53 fewer days of learning" while the reading difference was not statistically significant.

"in a typical school year, charter students in South Carolina experience lower academic progress than their TPS peers in mathematics. The disadvantage for charter students is equivalent to 53 fewer days of learning in mathematics in a 180-day school year."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Charter school students show more annual learning growth in reading and math than matched traditional public school peers — reports the opposite
• Pennsylvania charter school students show similar reading growth but weaker math growth (about 30 fewer days of learning) than matched TPS peers — related
• Charter students in poverty show similar reading growth but significantly weaker math growth (about 18 fewer days) than their TPS peers in poverty — related
• Charter math disadvantage varies across growth periods and narrows over time, with no significant math difference in 2017-18 — 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 — related
• Charter students' math disadvantage is concentrated in the first two growth periods, with performance similar to VCR peers by 2016-2017 — related
• Charter school students perform consistently better on standardized mathematics achievement measures than traditional public school peers, with modest differences — reports the opposite
• 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 — related
• Charter school quality varies greatly, and virtual charters perform significantly worse, while charters often increase segregation and underrepresent students with disabilities — related
• 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 — related
• Washington charter students' overall annual reading and math gains do not differ statistically from matched TPS peers — related
• Istation use is associated with significantly greater NWEA MAP Reading growth than comparison students in a South Carolina district (ES +0.06) — related
• Average charter schools perform about the same as nearby traditional public schools, with large variation in effects — related
• Charter school entrants have similar or lower achievement than incumbents in all studied cities, suggesting no cream skimming — related