Focus Area:
Charter Schools and Public School Choice

This overview of Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charters Schools in 2008 introduces the key areas explored in this year’s volume and notes that charter schools are more different than alike, not only in terms of the populations they serve, the academic missions they pursue, and the results they produce, but also in their response to local need and capacity.

This paper analyzes existing charter outcome studies and finds that there is great variety in charter school performance, with charters outperforming in some grade spans/subjects and underperforming in others.

This chapter presents national data showing how charter schools differ from traditional public schools in their approaches to teaching and learning.

By providing access to proven college-prep models (and suburban school performance expectations), charter schools appear to be offering something not otherwise available in many communities.

Due to the special vulnerability of their children and the due process rights built into special education statutes, parents of special-needs children are extreme choosers.

In this chapter, Rick Hess and Bruno Manno make a compelling case that understanding what various types of students, parents, teachers, principals, school districts, and others want and need from the charter sector could allow greater targeting of charter schools and would also give focus to philanthropic investments and policy changes.

This paper provides an analysis of 14 charter school studies that use the two most rigorous methods: either randomization based on lotteries, or value-added modeling.

This year’s edition explores how charter school achievement varies across the sector, how the educational strategies used by charters differ from those used in traditional public schools, how charters are providing unique opportunities to diverse student populations, and how growth efforts should be responsive to constituent demands.