The Evaluation of Charter School Impacts: Final Report
Gleason, P., Clark, M., Tuttle, C. C., & Dwoyer, E. (NCEE 2010-4029)
This evaluation of “36 charter middle schools across 15 states compares outcomes” of students who won admittance to the schools through lotteries and those who didn't win. The study finds that middle school charters holding lotteries were “neither more nor less successful than traditional public schools in improving student achievement, behavior, a...
Date Published: 2010-06
Spotlight: 2010-08
The National Study of Charter Management Organization (CMO) Effectiveness (pdf)
Lake, R., Dusseault, B., Bowen, M., Demeritt, A., & Hill, P.
“This [longitudinal] study was designed to shed light on which practices and contextual factors are associated with CMO impacts. The funders also asked us to consider, to the extent possible, the relationships between CMOs and school districts and independent charter schools, and the impact of the broader regulatory and policy context in which CMOs...
Date Published: 2010-06
Spotlight: 2010-07
Early Achievement Impacts of The Harlem Success Academy Charter School in New York City
Supovitz, J., & Rikoon, S.
Harlem Success Academy Charter School (HSAC) is one of four Harlem Success Academies founded by the Success Charter Network. Using the network's model, HSAC provides more instructional time and a longer school day and year than traditional public schools. Results of a study of 3rd graders show a 13-19% higher performance than comparable students in...
Date Published: 2010-04
Spotlight: 2010-06
Retrofitting Bureaucracy: Factors Influencing Charter Schools’ Access to Federal Entitlement Programs
Rhim, L. M., & Brinson D.
This research study used interviews, literature reviews, and scans of the statutory language to examine to what extent and how states have adapted existing regulations on procedures to make certain that charter schools successfully access available federal entitlement dollars associated with Title I-A and IDEA Part B. The report includes five prima...
Date Published: 2010-02
Spotlight: 2010-02
Charter School Performance in New York City (pdf)
Center for Research on Education Outcomes
This supplement to a June 2009 report analyzes the learning in 49 charter schools in New York City for 2003-2009. “Overall the results found that the typical student in a New York City charter school learns more than their virtual counterparts in their feeder pool in reading and mathematics,” with significant positive effects for Black and Hispanic...
Date Published: 2010-01
Spotlight: 2010-03
Everyone Wins: How Charter Schools Benefit All New York City Public School Students
Winters, M. A. (Civic Report No. 60)
“Using student-level data, this paper examines the impact of charter schools on the academic performance of students who remain in the local public schools of New York City, instead of joining its rapidly expanding charter sector.” Findings include: reading proficiency among those who remain increases; competition has no overall effect on math, but...
Date Published: 2009-10
Spotlight: 2009-11
Multiple Choice: Charter School Performance in 16 States (pdf)
Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO)
“This report presents a longitudinal student-level analysis of charter school impacts on more than 70 percent of the students in charter schools in the United States. This study provides an overview that aggregates charter schools in different ways to examine different facets of their impact on student academic growth. The group portrait shows wide...
Date Published: 2009-06
Spotlight: 2009-07
Still Left Behind: Student Learning In Chicago’s Public Schools (pdf)
Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago
This report compares student scores on 2008 Illinois tests (ISAT & PSAE) with national exams (NAEP) and finds Chicago public school students have shown little improvement, and dropout rates are very high. Charter school students in the city and those in magnet/selective enrollment high schools have fared better. Recommendations include conducting i...
Date Published: 2009-06
Spotlight: 2009-09
A Framework for Operational Quality
National Consensus Panel on Charter School Operational Quality
A Framework for Operational Quality is designed as a guide for charter school leaders and support organizations as they establish schools that are prepared to achieve and sustain success. It recommends that leaders adopt a specific series of essential indicators, measures, metrics and targets for their operations. The report also serves to advise a...
Date Published: 2009-05
Spotlight: 2009-06
Charter School Achievement: What We Know, 5th ed. (pdf)
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
This update of charter school research showed that “Studies that use the best data and the most sophisticated research techniques show charters outperforming comparable traditional public schools…[and] have the strongest positive effects in elementary school reading and middle school math. Moreover, the magnitude of the positive charter school eff...
Date Published: 2009-05
Spotlight: 2009-10
Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition (pdf)
Zimmer, R., Gill, B., Booker, K., Lavertu, S., Sass, T. R., & Witte, J.
This book examines “four primary research questions in several geographic locations: (1)What are the characteristics of students transferring to charter schools? (2)What effect do charter schools have on test-score gains for students who transfer between TPSs and charter schools? (3)What is the effect of attending a charter high school on the proba...
Date Published: 2009-03
Spotlight: 2009-04
When Private Schools Take Public Dollars: What’s the Place of Accountability in School Voucher Programs? (pdf)
Finn, C. E., Jr., Hentges, C. M., Petrilli, M. J., & Winkler, A. M.
“For both substantive and strategic reasons, we believe it's time for school choice supporters to embrace accountability, done right." 20 experts in "the school choice world" examine the issues, offering insights and advice, including the suggestion that "the more voucher-bearing students a school enrolls, the greater its obligations for transparen...
Date Published: 2009-03
Spotlight: 2009-05
Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2008
Robin Lake, Editor
The essays in this volume show, e.g., that: national charter school achievement is promising overall, but highly varied; charter schools distinguish themselves from traditional public schools in their educational strategies and offerings; college-prep charters are an important new development for inner-city students; charter schools deliver new mod...
Date Published: 2008-12
Spotlight: 2009-02
Value-Added and Experimental Studies of the Effect of Charter Schools on Student Achievement: A Literature Review
Betts, J. & Tang, Y. E.
“This paper provides an up-to-date review of charter school studies that utilize either of these approaches—randomization based on lotteries, or taking into account a student’s past achievement through value-added modeling.” They find “compelling evidence that charter schools underperform traditional public schools in some locations, grades, and su...
Date Published: 2008-12
Spotlight: 2008-12
A Commitment to Quality: National Charter School Policy Forum Report (pdf)
U.S. Department of Education
This forum report calls for states to provide more timely and consistent access to performance data for charter schools and for more research and evaluation on all aspects of charters, as well as a renewed commitment to quality by all charter leaders, advocates, and families.
Date Published: 2008-10
Spotlight: 2009-03
Leading for Learning 2008 (pdf)
The Wallace Foundation
“Education Week's fifth annual Leading for Learning report, funded by The Wallace Foundation, examines the leadership challenges facing the nation's rapidly growing charter school sector. It includes new research on the characteristics of charter school principals, and the pressing issues they face, from the National Charter Schools Research Projec...
Date Published: 2008-09
Spotlight: 2008-09
San Francisco Bay Area KIPP schools: A Study of Early Implementation and Achievement (pdf)
Woodworth, K.R., David, J.L., Guha, R., Wang, H., & Lopez-Torkos, A.
This study concludes that the charter middle schools run by KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) have posted “strong achievement gains,” especially in 5th and 6th grades, through high expectations, extensive time and support for learning, tracking progress, and a philosophy of continuous improvement.
Date Published: 2008-09
Spotlight: 2008-10
Charter School Performance in Los Angeles Unified School District: A District and Neighborhood Matched Comparison Analysis (pdf)
Toney, A. N., & Murdock, D.
"This report analyzes charter schools in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) comparing charter and traditional public schools performance based on 2006-2007 API data. Key to the analysis was the finding that charters in LAUSD outperform traditional public schools on a variety of student achievement measures. The report assessed for the firs...
Date Published: 2008-06
Spotlight: 2008-08
Achievement and Attainment in Chicago Charter Schools
Booker, K., Gill, B., Zimmer, R., & Sass, T. R.
This report examines transfers to charter schools in Chicago; assesses their achievement gains relative to district-run schools as measured by state test scores; and examines longer-term outcomes, analyzing whether Chicago's charter high schools are increasing their students' likelihood of graduating, their scores on the ACT® college-admission exam...
Date Published: 2008-05
Spotlight: 2008-06
Principles and Standards for Quality Charter Support Organizations (pdf)
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Charters schools' "drive for excellence has created a new kind of entity - 'charter support organizations' - that provide a prodigious array of services and supports. This volume attempts to create a set of fundamental operating standards" for those organizations, standards which parallel Principles and Standards for Quality Charter School Authoriz...
Date Published: 2008-05
Spotlight: 2008-07
What Works: Inside Model Charter Schools (pdf)
Lance T. Izumi
This paper examines the research on high performance at individual charter schools and lays out principles and practices used at these schools which can be followed by charter school practitioners.
Date Published: 2008-03
Spotlight: 2008-04
Boosting Performance & Containing Costs Through Mayoral Academies: A Nationally Unique Model
for Public Education (pdf)
Public Impact
Responding to a mayor's request for help, this report analyzes Rhode Island's public education, then proposes a concept for realizing dramatic performance gains while containing costs: “Mayoral Academies.” The study details a rationale for achieving its goals, explains how the academies would work in practice, and sets forth a plan on how amendment...
Date Published: 2008-01
Spotlight: 2008-07
“Working the Curve” for North Carolina’s Charter Schools (pdf)
Bryan Hassel, & Dana Brinson
This report presents an evaluation of the current charter school program in North Carolina, identifies areas for improvement, and provides “options for policy, legislative, or leader action changes” based on an “examination of data on charter schools in North Carolina, interviews with key stakeholders in the state, and research on the experiences o...
Date Published: 2007-12
Spotlight: 2008-11
Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2007
Lake, R. J. (ed.)
"This is the third annual report from the National Charter School Research Project (NCSRP) at the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education.Like previous editions of Hopes, Fears, & Reality, this year’s report explores some of the most challenging issues currently facing the charter school movement." Six chapters address gov...
Date Published: 2007-12
Spotlight: 2007-12
A Sum Greater Than the Parts: What States Can Teach Each Other About Charter Schooling
Mead, Sara & Rotherham, Andrew J.
Based on a series of state and city case studies published by the Progressive Policy Institute and Education Sector, this report summarizes states' experiences with charter schooling, particularly the roles of state charter school laws and the state's regulatory, political, and educational climate in shaping a state's charter sector.
Date Published: 2007-09
Spotlight: 2007-11
Charter Public Schools Authorizer's Primer: A Guide for Illinois School Districts (pdf)
Illinois Network of Charter Schools, in conjunction with the National Assoc. of Charter School Authorizers
This guide provides a sound introduction to charter public schools and authorizing. This unique tool applies the NACSA's national Principles and Standards for charter school authorizing to Illinois -particularly to medium and small districts new to chartering -helping them understand how charters could fit into a community and how to formulate thei...
Date Published: 2007-08
Spotlight: 2008-06
Quality Counts: The Growth of Charter School Management Organizations
National Charter School Research Project
This report makes it clear that efforts to quickly expand successful charter schools through 'managed growth' will not be easy. The report analyzes why this is so and offers strategies to help new management organizations shorten their learning curves and avoid problems encountered by pioneering management organizations.
Date Published: 2007-08
Spotlight: 2007-11
Beyond the Battle Lines: Lessons From New York’s Charter Caps Fight
Stulberg, L. M.
This report "explores the politics of an-ultimately successful-effort to raise the cap and expand the number of charter schools in New York State. Author Lisa M. Stulberg explores the pros and cons of charter caps and how they play out in local communities."
Date Published: 2007-06
Spotlight: 2007-08
Innovations In Education: Supporting Charter School Excellence Through Quality Authorizing
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement
This guide "highlights the practices of eight charter authorizers that have fostered the development of high-quality charter schools" and "describes various ways that authorizers and policymakers can achieve quality authorizing. It provides detailed information designed to help policymakers at the state and national levels and to help current and p...
Date Published: 2007-06
Spotlight: 2008-01
Do Charter Schools Threaten Public Education? Emerging Evidence from Fifteen Years of a Quasi-Market for Schooling
Forman, James
"Supporters of public education have long feared that charter schools will threaten the public system, both by 1) creaming off the most advantaged students and 2) undermining political support for the public system. According to recent research by Georgetown Univ. Law Center Associate Professor, James Forman, these fears have not been borne out."
Date Published: 2007-04
Spotlight: 2007-04
Hopes, Fears, and Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2006
Robin J. Lake & Paul T. Hill,
"This year’s essays focus on the implications of continued charter school growth for leading players in the charter school debates, including parents who choose schools, teachers unions, school districts, authorizers, and state policymakers."
Date Published: 2006-12
Spotlight: 2006-12
Florida's Charter Schools: A Decade of Progress (pdf)
Florida Department of Education, Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice
The Florida Department of Education traces the evolution of the charter school movement in Florida, tracking the change in legislation, growth, and performance, in its ten-year evaluation report.
Date Published: 2006-11
Spotlight: 2007-07
Signs of Promise: Hispanic Student Achievement in Charter Schools
Ziebarth, Todd
To maximize achievement of English Language Learners in charter schools, increase number of high quality Latino educators; provide equitable resources for charter schools serving low income, Hispanic students; fund replication of successful charters; and conduct more sophisticated analyses of charter school performance with better data.
Date Published: 2006-11
Spotlight: 2007-05
Charter High Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap (2006)
U.S. Department of Education
Produced under the auspices of the Department’s Office of Innovation and Improvement, Innovations in Education guide, Charter High Schools Closing the Achievement Gap highlights eight charter high schools that are using innovative methods to help close the achievement gap between low-income, minority, and special need students and their peers.
Date Published: 2006-10
Spotlight: 2007-01
Charter School Achievement: What We Know (4th ed.)
Bryan C. Hassel and Michelle Godard Terrell
This report summarizes and evaluates 70 comparative analyses of charter school and traditional public school performance, including a study-by-study look at central findings and methodological strengths and weaknesses.
Date Published: 2006-10
Spotlight: 2007-03
California's Charter Schools: How Are They Performing? (pdf)
Edwards, Brian
EdSource found that California charter schools are more likely to meet their academic goals than non-charters. This report “considers the academic performance of 7,418 non-charter public schools and 355 charter schools in California,” and finds that “In 2005, 73% of charter schools met their schoolwide and subgroup API growth targets compared to 6...
Date Published: 2006-05
Spotlight: 2007-05
Key Issues in Studying Charter Schools and Achievement: A Review and Suggestions for National Guidelines
Charter School Achievement Consensus Panel, White Paper Series, No. 2
This report examines the existing research on student achievement in charter schools and details how future research could be improved... the Panel recommends that the research community and other audiences should consider the pattern of results from multiple studies instead of relying on a single study for definitive results.
Date Published: 2006-05
Spotlight: 2007-09
Charter Schools Communications Resource Kit
Red Bank Charter School for the New Jersey Department of Education
The kit includes FAQs; guides for parents, teachers, and community partners; customizable fact sheets, power point shows, and brochures; sample letters; and more. It was created “to serve as a vehicle to encourage other charter schools to expand their public relations efforts and share the good news of charter schools in New Jersey.”
Date Published: 2006
Spotlight: 2008-02
Fast Break in Indianapolis: A New Approach to Charter Schooling (pdf)
Hassel, B. C.
Fast Break is the fifth in a series of reports that analyze state and urban experiences with charter schooling.
Date Published: 2004-09
Spotlight: 2007-07
Primer for Charter School State Official: Special Education Requirements and Including Students with Disabilities in Charter Schools
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
The primers include resources to assist in developing special education programs in charter schools, provide support for authorizers to better assist schools that they charter, and give policy and practice support for those at the state level.
Date Published: 2004-01
Spotlight: 2007-02
Charter School Application Review and Decision Process
Public Charter School Board
The D.C. Public Charter School Board accepts applications once a year to establish public charter schools in the District of Columbia, and may authorize up to ten new charters each year. The Application Review Process includes an initial screening of applications, a qualitative review of applications by a technical review panel with members selecte...
http://www.dcpubliccharter.com/startschool/appreview.html
Spotlight: 2007-01
Charter Schools
Nevada Department of Education
The Nevada Department of Education's webpage devoted to charter schools provides forms, model bylaws, policies, a list of charter schools and closed charters, and links to Nevada Charter School Application and Operation Manual (Revised January 2010), which includes extensive documentation on special education.
http://www.doe.nv.gov/SD_CharterSchools.htm
Spotlight: 2010-05
Delaware Charter Schools Network
“DCSN stands for the Delaware Charter Schools Network. Our goal is to educate the public about charter schools, provide assistance to existing Delaware charter schools and those yet to open, and to serve as a unified voice for the state’s charter schools at the state and national level.” Includes a school list, links, and legislative information.
http://www.decharternetwork.org/
Spotlight: 2007-03
Indiana Charter Schools
Indiana Department of Education
On its website, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) lists all of the state’s charter schools with their contact information and supplies multiple resources for charter school development, including frequently asked questions and links to charter school resources.
http://www.doe.state.in.us/charterschools/welcome.html
Spotlight: 2007-06
Minnesota Charter School Resources
Center for School Change, University of Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Education website features a variety of resources and information pertaining to charter schools. The first charter school in the nation opened in Minnesota in 1992. Available documents and information include the Charter School Annual Report, mandatory training for charter school developers and sponsors, the Minnesota c...
http://www.centerforschoolchange.org/minnesota-charter-school-resources/index.html
Spotlight: 2006-12
National Center on School Choice
Peabody College at Vanderbilt University
The National Center on School Choice seeks to conduct scientific, comprehensive, and timely investigation on the individual and systemic effects of school choice and competition. The Center exercises national leadership in school choice research, including charter and magnet schools, private school vouchers, teacher recruitment, school management, ...
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/schoolchoice/research-home.html
Spotlight: 2010-05
Performance Management Institute
Building Charter School Quality (Consortium)
“The Performance Management Institute provides...[a 98-page, interactive, self-guided, and self-paced] web-based training to enhance the ability of charter school operators and authorizers, as well as others, to adopt and apply performance measurement practices to charter schooling and its oversight.” A downloadable workbook accompanies the web mat...
http://www.bcsqinstitute.com/
Spotlight: 2010-04
Primers on Implementing Special Education in Charter Schools
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
The Primers provide background information and resources to facilitate the successful inclusion of students with disabilities in charter schools. This website includes sections for authorizers, operators, and state officials. It also includes a snapshot of special education issues for each state that has a charter school law and state-specific prim...
http://www.uscharterschools.org/cs/spedp/print/uscs_docs/spedp/home.htm
Spotlight: 2009-08
Public School Academies (Charter Schools)
Michigan Department of Education
The Michigan Department of Education has a wide range of resources for its public school academies (charter schools), including: frequently asked questions, a directory and profiles of public school academies, federal and state grant information, external links, list of authorizers, and data analysis for public school academies on the state academi...
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-6530_30334_40088---,00.html
Spotlight: 2007-04
School Choice: Charter Schools Home Page
Idaho State Department of Education
This well-organized site is designed to provide information, resources, and assistance to charter school petitioners, those operating charter schools, authorizers, and the general public. It includes downloadable research, forms, events calendars, resources, and links.
http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/charter_schools/
Spotlight: 2009-01
State Charter Law Ranking Database
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
This database presents and ranks “all state charter school laws…based on the full range of values in the public charter school movement: quality and accountability, funding equity, facilities support, autonomy, and growth and choice.” It assesses "each state's charter school law against the 20 essential components of a strong law contained in the n...
http://www.publiccharters.org/charterlaws
Spotlight: 2010-01
Transform My School
California Charter Schools Association
"This website is a compilation of resources from three schools in San Diego that became charter schools in order to improve student achievement. Their stories are told through videos, sample materials, case studies, and slideshows, providing a window into each school's improvement process."
http://www.transform-myschool.org/
Spotlight: 2009-12
University of Hawai'i Charter School Resource Center
Hilo, HI: University of Hawai’i—Hilo
The UH Charter School Resource Center supports the success of charters in Hawaii. This site offers links to the state charter administrative office and other state and national websites and resources helpful to those in the charter community and those studying charters.
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~hawcsrc/Site/UH%20CSRC.html
Spotlight: 2009-10
