This report analyzes the main reasons charter authorizers close schools, and how districts can use those closures as part of an overall improvement strategy that aligns with and reinforces their core values.
School choice is increasingly the new normal in urban education. But in cities with multiple public school options, how can civic leaders create a choice system that works for all families, whether they choose a charter or district school? To answer this question, CRPE has been studying the opportunities and challenges in “high-choice” cities. We have interviewed civic and education leaders and surveyed parents to identify challenges like uneven school quality and lack of transportation. We’ve also studied ways cities can overcome barriers, such as unified enrollment and common accountability systems, to learn what works and what needs to be refined.
Charter schools offer the potential to create high-performing public schools in districts typically plagued by poor student outcomes. Too often, however, the charter school debate is marred by biased research and polemics. Like all important reform efforts, credible research and analysis must accompany innovation. To assess whether charter schools are fulfilling their mission, we rigorously evaluate their performance, costs, and ability to address unique student needs. New data and evidence help innovators across the country collaborate, communicate, and develop best practices.
This report analyzes the main reasons charter authorizers close schools, and how districts can use those closures as part of an overall improvement strategy that aligns with and reinforces their core values.
This paper identifies tactics districts can use to influence the factors that shape the supply and quality of providers of autonomous schools in thin markets.
This paper finds that informal partnerships between authorizers and private organizations have the potential to improve the quality and quantity of new schools.
This paper summarizes the research evidence on charter school innovation to date and suggests ways to more productively pursue future research and development in the charter sector.
What are the options for charter school authorizers or entities with similar responsibilities who want to preserve assets when closing low-performing schools? This study suggests that authorizers rarely try to salvage these assets.
This report addresses choices made at the intersection of two very important trends in education: special education and charter schools.
This report explores the various difficulties charter schools face related to educating children with disabilities and examines potential opportunities to address those.
Like previous editions of Hopes, Fears, & Reality, the 2007 edition explores some of the most challenging issues facing the charter school movement with a focus on the pressing concerns, tensions, and opportunities involved with...
This report analyzes why replicating successful charter schools has been tougher and more costly than expected for both for-profit and nonprofit charter management organizations (EMOs and CMOs).
The report examines lessons from New York’s experience with charter caps politics and provides policy considerations relevant to the growing number of states in which charter schools are reaching their legislated limit.
