Charter Schools’ impacts on public school outcomes

Posted by on January 15, 2007

[posted from Public Education Network newsblast]

DO CHARTER SCHOOLS LEAD TO IMPROVED EDUCATION OUTCOMES IN TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

One argument in favor of charter school reform is that choice leads to increased competition for students. As a consequence, incentives are created for nearby public schools to improve achievement outcomes and use resources more efficiently. A new paper by Richard Buddin and Ron Zimmer examines the effects of charter schools on traditional public schools. Using California data, the analysis examines the responses to a survey of principals in a sample of traditional public schools. In addition, the research assesses how charter school competition affects student-level achievement trends in traditional public schools. The survey results showed that public school principals felt little competitive pressure from charters. Similarly, the student achievement analysis showed that charter competition (measured in a variety of ways) was not improving the performance of traditional public schools. The authors acknowledge, but are unable to account for, growing student enrollments in California and state and local policies, which may minimize the competitive pressures that charter schools exert.

http://www.ncspe.org/list-papers.php