Last week the New York Times profiled the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a department within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Established in 2002, WWC intends to be the go-to resource for evidence-based educational practices. Thus far, WWC has reviewed over 6,000 studies that evaluate the effectiveness of educational practices, programs, and policies. WWC provides summary information about the studies, as well as a WWC rating based on the strength of the evidence of its effectiveness. The WWC ratings are:
Meets Evidence Standards without Reservations: “The highest possible rating for a study reviewed by the WWC. Studies receiving this rating provide the highest degree of confidence that an observed effect was caused by the intervention. Only well-implemented randomized controlled trials and regression discontinuity designs that do not have problems with attrition may receive this highest rating.”
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations: “The middle possible rating for a study reviewed by the WWC. Studies receiving this rating provide a lower degree of confidence that an observed effect was caused by the intervention. Randomized controlled trials and regression discontinuity designs that are not as well implemented or have problems with attrition, along with strong quasi-experimental designs, may receive this rating.”
Does Not Meet Evidence Standards: “A study with a low level of causal evidence. This is the rating given to studies with causal research designs that were not implemented rigorously enough to conclude with confidence that the intervention caused the observed changes in outcomes.”
However, as a go-to resource, WWC has fallen short in the area of the effectiveness of charter schools, with only 12 studies reviewed to date:
Charter School Study Review
WWC Rating
National Charter School Study 2013
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
Charter Schools and the Road to College Readiness: The Effects on College Preparation, Attendance and Choice
Meets Evidence Standards without Reservations
Charter School Performance in New Jersey
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
Charter-School Management Organizations: Diverse Strategies and Diverse Student Impacts
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
Charter School Performance in Indiana
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
The Evaluation of Charter School Impacts: Final Report
Meets Evidence Standards without Reservations
Charter School Performance in New York City
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
Multiple Choice: Charter School Performance in 16 States
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
Charter School Performance in Los Angeles Unified School District: A District and Neighborhood Matched Comparison Analysis
Does Not Meet Evidence Standards
Are High-Quality Schools Enough to Close the Achievement Gap? Evidence from a Social Experiment in Harlem
Meets Evidence Standards without Reservations
San Francisco Bay Area KIPP Schools: A Study of Early Implementation and Achievement
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
Student Characteristics and Achievement in 22 KIPP Middle Schools
Meets Evidence Standards with Reservations
While the WWC summaries are great resources for obtaining quick information about overall results and the quality of the study’s methodological design, WWC does not provide summaries or reviews for the comprehensive set of high-quality charter school studies. The 2010 Betts & Tang charter school meta-analysis included 25 studies, and NAPCS released a summary of 13 additional high-quality charter school studies that have been released since the 2010 meta-analysis. With growing attention to WWC as a valuable resource for educators and policymakers, we encourage WWC to review the entire set of eligible charter school studies. Otherwise, visitors to WWC may not be aware of the growing trend of studies showing positive results for charter schools. Anna Nicotera is the senior director of research at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
