Do Charter Schools Improve Student Achievement? (original) (raw)
Related papers
2011
This paper presents findings from the first national randomized study of the impacts of charter schools on student achievement, which included 36 charter middle schools across 15 states. The paper compares students who applied and were admitted to these schools through randomized admissions lotteries with students who applied and were not admitted. It finds that, on average, charter middle schools in the study were neither more nor less successful than traditional public schools in improving student achievement. However, impacts varied significantly across schools and students, with positive impacts for more disadvantaged schools and students and negative impacts for the more advantaged.
The impact of charter schools on student achievement in the United States
The purpose of this paper is to discuss charter schools in the United States and how it is different from the traditional public schools in terms of student performance in math and reading subjects. Several empirical studies have been discussed in this paper to provide support for charter schools in the United States. There are currently more than 6000 charter schools that represents about six percent of the U.S. public school system. Charter schools focus on personalized approach including smaller class sizes, more individual attention to and strong parental involvement. Out of 41 areas from 22 states, 26 areas’ post learning gains for charter schools is more than traditional public schools. In reading, 23 regions have larger learning gains than traditional public schools. Charter school students outperform traditional public school students in state standardized tests. The charter schools produce 40 percent better results in both math and reading scores per dollar spent.
Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, 2004
Using an individual panel data set to control for student fixed effects, we estimate the impact of charter schools on students in charter schools and in nearby traditional public schools. We find that students make considerably smaller achievement gains in charter schools than they would have in public schools. The large negative estimates of the effects of attending a charter schools are neither substantially biased, nor substantially offset, by positive impacts of charter schools on traditional public schools. Finally, we find suggestive evidence that about 30 percent of the negative effect of charter schools is attributable to high rates of student turnover.
How Do Charter Schools Affect System-Level Test Scores and Graduation Rates? A National Analysis
2022
We study the combined effects of charter schools, and their various mechanisms, on a national level and across multiple outcomes. Using difference-indifferences and fixed effects methods, we find that charter entry (above 10 percent market share) increases high school graduation rate in geographic districts by about 2-4 percentage points and increases test scores by 0.06-0.16 standard deviations. Charter effects peak with 5-15 percent charter market share. Also, total effects are comprised not only of participant and competitive effects, but also the charter-induced closure of low-performing traditional public schools. The analysis addresses potential endogeneity of charter school location and timing.
The Impacts of Charter Schools on Student Achievement: Evidence from North Carolina
Education Finance and Policy, 2006
Using an individual panel data set to control for student fixed effects, we estimate the impact of charter schools on students in charter schools and in nearby traditional public schools. We find that students make considerably smaller achievement gains in charter schools than they would have in public schools. The large negative estimates of the effects of attending a charter schools are neither substantially biased, nor substantially offset, by positive impacts of charter schools on traditional public schools. Finally, we find suggestive evidence that about 30 percent of the negative effect of charter schools is attributable to high rates of student turnover.
Education and Urban Society, 2018
Charter schools in urban environments have been scrutinized for their effectiveness. This study attempted to determine whether students attending Midwestern urban charter schools outperformed students in traditional schools on the state’s accountability system over a 5-year time period. Using a quasi-experimental research design, data were collected from 31 Midwestern urban school districts, along with data from 88 adjacent contiguous charter schools during the 2008 to 2012 school years. Findings in this study suggest that students who transferred from traditional public schools to charter schools did not outperform academically as their corresponding counterparts in mathematics and reading, and had lower attendance rates, over the first three consecutive years of their attendance. In the succeeding 2 years, however, charter school students outperformed traditional students in both reading and mathematics, and had greater attendance rates, than students attending traditional public ...
Review of" How New York City's Charter Schools Affect Achievement
How New York City's Charter Schools Affect Achievement estimates the effects on student achievement of attending a New York City charter school rather than a traditional public school and investigates the characteristics of charter schools associated with the most positive effects on achievement. Because the report relies on an inappropriate set of statistical models to analyze the data, however, the results presented appear to overstate the cumulative effect of attending a charter school. In addition, the report does not provide enough technical discussion and detailed description to enable a reader to assess the validity of some aspects of the report's methodology and results. Policymakers, educators, and parents, therefore, should not rely on these estimates until the authors provide more technical detail and the analysis has undergone rigorous peer review.
The Effects of Charter High Schools on Educational Attainment
Journal of Labor Economics, 2011
We analyze the relationship between charter high school attendance and educational attainment in Florida and in Chicago. Controlling for observed student characteristics and test scores, we estimate that among students who attended a charter middle school, those who went on to attend a charter high school were 7 to 15 percentage points more likely to earn a standard diploma than students who transitioned to a traditional public high school. Similarly, those attending a charter high school were 8 to 10 percentage points more likely to attend college. We find even larger effects when we treat high school choice as endogenous.
2008
Unlike past charter school studies, which focus on student achievement, we analyze the relationship between charter high school attendance and educational attainment. We find that charter high schools in Florida and in Chicago have substantial positive effects on both high school completion and college attendance. Controlling for observed student characteristics and test scores, univariate probit estimates indicate that among students who attended a charter middle school, those who went on to attend a charter high school were 7 to 15 percentage points more likely to earn a standard diploma than students who transitioned to a traditional public high school. Similarly, those attending a charter high school were 8 to 10 percentage points more likely to attend college. Using the proximity of charters and other types of high schools as exogenous instruments for charter high school attendance, we find even stronger effects in bivariate probit models of charter attendance and educational attainment. While large, our estimates are in line with previous studies of the impact of Catholic high schools on educational attainment. for valuable comments. The authors are solely responsible for the analysis and conclusions in the paper, however.