With all the fast and loose references to "research", it might be good to look at a few reports on charter schools. Just looking at the NAEP 2003 Pilot Study, for example, shows the claims made by some regarding student performance in charter schools made by some need to be looked at in context and qualified.
And I agree with the NEA position that, "Private schools should not be allowed to convert to public charter schools, and private for-profit entities should not be eligible to receive a charter".
Charter schools should be 100% public schools with at least the same percentage of licensed teachers (employed directly by local school districts) with no more non-public entity involvement than public schools in general. I am well aware of the political right's ongoing campaign to open up public education to the "free market" and that if they succeed it's the end of public education and more. The fact that there is too much private involvement means that there needs to be much stronger regulation and careful, thoughtful discussion, not that we need to throw out the idea of public charter schools.First,
The NEA Position: Charter schools are publicly funded elementary or secondary schools that have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools, in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each charter school's charter.
NEA believes that charter schools and other nontraditional public school options have the potential to facilitate education reforms and develop new and creative teaching methods that can be replicated in traditional public schools for the benefit of all children. Whether charter schools will fulfill this potential depends on how charter schools are designed and implemented, including the oversight and assistance provided by charter authorizers.
NEA's Policy on Charter Schools
State laws and regulations governing charter schools vary widely. NEA's state affiliates have positions on charter schools that are appropriate to the situation in their states. NEA's policy statement sets forth broad parameters, and minimum criteria by which to evaluate state charter laws. For example:
* A charter should be granted only if the proposed school intends to offer an educational experience that is qualitatively different from what is available in traditional public schools.
* Local school boards should have the authority to grant or deny charter applications; the process should be open to the public, and applicants should have the right to appeal to a state agency decisions to deny or revoke a charter.
* Charter school funding should not disproportionately divert resources from traditional public schools.
* Charter schools should be monitored on a continuing basis and should be subject to modification or closure if children or the public interest is at risk.
* Private schools should not be allowed to convert to public charter schools, and private for-profit entities should not be eligible to receive a charter.
* Charter schools should be subject to the same public sector labor relations statutes as traditional public schools, and charter school employees should have the same collective bargaining rights as their counterparts in traditional public schools.
http://www.nea.org/home/16332.htmResults From the NAEP 2003 Pilot StudyWhile charter schools are similar to other public schools in many respects, they differ in several important ways, including the makeup of the student population and their location. For example, in comparison to other public schools, higher percentages of charter school fourth-grade students are Black and attend schools in central cities.
Thus, when comparing the performance of charter and other public school students, it is important to compare students who share a common characteristic. For example, in mathematics, fourth-grade charter school students as a whole did not perform as well as their public school counterparts. However, the mathematics performance of White, Black, and Hispanic fourth-graders in charter schools was not measurably different from the performance of fourth-graders with similar racial/ethnic backgrounds in other public schools.
In reading, there was no measurable difference in performance between charter school students in the fourth grade and their public school counterparts as a whole. This was true, even though, on average, charter schools have higher proportions of students from groups that typically perform lower on NAEP than other public schools have. In reading, as in mathematics, the performance of fourth-grade students with similar racial/ethnic backgrounds in charter schools and other public schools was not measurably different.
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/charter/2005456.aspTwo more worthwhile links:http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/choice/pcsp-final/execsum.htmlhttp://www.gao.gov/new.items/d055.pdf