KIPP

Product or Programme · All products and programmes
Evidence · 15 claims (14 for, 1 mixed) · 8 studies (7 causal, 1 theoretical), q2–q3 · 1 of 8 report an effect size · 12 claims rest on one study

Description

KIPP is a network of public charter schools operated by the KIPP Foundation and affiliated local KIPP organizations, serving students through its school model.

Components

• KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) charter middle school network: The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a network of charter schools whose middle schools were evaluated for achievement impacts in this study. The article describes the evaluation as covering "41 Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter middle schools nationwide", making KIPP the instructional setting whose effects on reading, math, science, and social studies scores were measured. The page also lists an associated project, "KIPP: Preparing Youth for College", with a 2007-2017 time frame. (Philip M. Gleason et al. (2014))
• Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP): a national network of public charter schools with extended day/year and a Commitment to Excellence: KIPP is "a nonprofit network of more than 200 public charter schools" serving prekindergarten through high school students, launched in 1994 in Houston. Schools operate autonomously under charter authorizers, use admissions lotteries when oversubscribed, have "an extended school day and an extended school year compared with traditional public schools", and require students, parents, and teachers to sign the Commitment to Excellence pledge covering attendance, homework, behavior, parental support, and teacher preparation. Principals can hire and fire staff and allocate resources. (Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) (2018))
• KIPP charter school network and its Five Pillars model: The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is described as "the largest public charter school network in the United States, with 141 elementary, middle, and high schools in the 2013–2014 school year." The report identifies "the Five Pillars that helped lay the foundation for the 'No Excuses' model" as key elements of KIPP's model, noting the network grew rapidly from its first fifth grade classes in 1994 and planned to add 23 more schools in fall 2014. (Joshua Furgeson et al. (2014))
• KIPP public charter school network: KIPP is a network of public charter schools serving students from elementary through high school grades, evaluated here by Mathematica Policy Research over a 10-year period as part of the project "KIPP: Preparing Youth for College" (time frame 2007-2017, prepared for Arnold Ventures). The evaluation examined impacts on achievement in math, reading, science, and social studies, and on college preparation activities. The study found "positive impacts on student achievement, particularly at the elementary and middle school levels." (Christina Clark Tuttle et al. (2015))

Claims

• KIPP charter middle schools produce positive, statistically significant test-score effects in reading, math, science, and social studies [+M]
• KIPP charter schools have positive effects on mathematics achievement for middle and high school students [+M]
• KIPP charter schools have positive effects on English language arts achievement for middle and high school students [+M]
• KIPP charter schools have potentially positive effects on science achievement for middle and high school students [+W]
• KIPP charter schools have potentially positive effects on social studies achievement, with mixed study findings [+W]
• KIPP shows no discernible effects on high school student progression (graduation within 4 years) [~W]
• A lottery-based randomized controlled trial of KIPP middle schools found statistically significant positive effects on state math and reading tests [+M]
• In the vast majority of 22 KIPP middle schools, impacts on students' state assessment scores in math and reading are positive, statistically significant, and educationally substantial [+W]
• KIPP's Five Pillars strongly influenced the charter school community and traditional public schools [+M]
• For students continuing from KIPP middle schools, KIPP high schools have positive impacts on a variety of college preparation activities and the likelihood of applying to college [+W]
• KIPP high schools have positive, statistically significant achievement impacts for students new to the KIPP network, but not for students continuing from KIPP middle schools [+W]
• Average impacts of KIPP middle schools were positive and statistically significant throughout the 10-year study period, though higher in earlier years than recent years [+W]
• KIPP Pre-K combined with KIPP early elementary school has positive, statistically significant impacts on reading and math achievement after five years [+W]
• KIPP elementary schools have positive, statistically significant, and educationally meaningful impacts on three of four measures of reading and mathematics skills [+W]
• KIPP Pre-K may provide an additional benefit for reading achievement above and beyond KIPP elementary school [+W]

Related Products and Programmes

• Internationals Network for Public Schools

Key Sources

• Philip M. Gleason, Christina Clark Tuttle, Brian Gill, Ira Nichols-Barrer, Bing-ru Teh. (2014). Do KIPP Schools Boost Student Achievement? Education Finance and Policy, vol. 9, no. 1. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/do-kipp-schools-boost-student-achievement
• Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP). (2018). What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report: Charter Schools. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/688
• Christina Clark Tuttle, Bing-ru Teh, Ira Nichols-Barrer, Brian P. Gill, Philip Gleason. (2010). Student Characteristics and Achievement in 22 KIPP Middle Schools. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/student-characteristics-and-achievement-in-22-kipp-middle-schools
• Joshua Furgeson, Virginia Knechtel, Margaret Sullivan, Christina Clark Tuttle, Lauren Akers, Mary Anne Anderson, Michael Barna, Ira Nichols-Barrer. (2014). KIPP Leadership Practices through 2010-2011. Technical Report, Cambridge, MA: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/kipp-leadership-practices-through-2010-2011-technical-report
• Christina Clark Tuttle, Philip Gleason, Virginia Knechtel, Ira Nichols-Barrer, Kevin Booker, Gregory Chojnacki, Thomas Coen, Lisbeth Goble. (2015). Understanding the Effect of KIPP as it Scales: Volume I, Impacts on Achievement and Other Outcomes (Executive Summary). Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/executive-summary-understanding-the-effect-of-kipp-as-it-scales-volume-i-impacts-on-achievement

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	product
id	kipp
title	KIPP
description	KIPP is a network of public charter schools operated by the KIPP Foundation and affiliated local KIPP organizations, serving students through its school model.
status	review
moved_from	element/kipp-charter-middle-school-network, element/kipp-charter-network-intervention, element/kipp-charter-school-network, element/kipp-network-five-pillars-model, element/kipp-public-charter-school-network
product_kind	programme
generated	by process:sweep-kinds on 2026-10-10
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	5 — philip-m-gleason-2014, knowledge-is-power-program-kipp-2018, christina-clark-tuttle-2010, joshua-furgeson-2014, christina-clark-tuttle-2015

Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.