Two decades after the first public charter school opened in Minnesota, and now that there are more than 6,000 public charter schools in operation, the timing is right for a comprehensive examination of the research on public charter schools. There have been a number of reviews of the research on academic performance studies (see the Betts & Tang meta-analysis and our own research synthesis), and NAPCS’s recent assessment shows that there is a positive trend in the performance of public charter schools demonstrated in high quality studies. But there is a great deal that we do not fully understand about why some charter schools are knocking it out of the ballpark, while others struggle. What are the mediating factors that create opportunities for public charter schools to perform well?
A new book from researchers Priscilla Wohlstetter, Joanna Smith, and Caitlin Farrell takes a deep dive into the large body of research on public charter schools, covering over 500 academic papers and reports—not just the academic performance studies—to compare how charter schools perform and operate relative to the goals initially set for them through legislation. The authors identified the following goals for public charter schools from a review of state charter laws: Classroom goals:
Increase opportunities for teachers
Increase innovations in education programs
Increase student performance
School community goals:
Increase school autonomy
Increase opportunities for parent involvement
Increase school accountability
System goals:
Increase competition among public schools
Increase capacity of the K-12 education system
Increase student performance throughout education system
It is a solid framework for looking at the impact of public charter schools, specifically by assessing public charter schools through the lens of whether charter schools have achieved the legislative intent of the reform initiative. Overall, research suggests that public charter schools have lived up to most of the reform goals. Yet, the research does not reveal a secret sauce for public charter school success. Despite the 500 plus studies on public charter schools, the research is pretty lean in evaluating most of the goals. And given the fact that the sector has shifted towards a true acknowledgement of the importance of high quality authorizing and strong governance, there are other areas of research that need attention. Beyond the call for more research, the book provides a nice discussion of the path public charter schools have taken as a reform initiative: from the early days of experimentation, to an era of expansion, to the current era of refinement. The final chapter includes reflection and commentary from five influential thinkers, including Jeffrey Henig (Teachers College, Columbia University), Paul Hill (Center for Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington), Bruno Manno (Walton Family Foundation, Deborah McGriff (NewSchools Venture Fund & NAPCS Board Member), and Charles Payne (University of Chicago), around the following questions:
In what ways, if any, have charter schools challenged the definition and boundaries of public education?
Across the levels of the system—classroom, school, district—where have charters succeeded? Where have they fallen short?
How is the relationship between charter and non-charter public school changing? How is the role of charters in the education sector as a whole evolving?
Most policies last ten to twenty years before being eclipsed by “the next big thing.” What does the charter sector have to do in the next five years to assure its future?
The last question should be on the minds of everyone involved in the public charter school sector.
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