Urban charter schools are succeeding—so get out of their way

[Street Knowledge]

http://fortune.com/2015/04/02/urban-charter-school-successes/

Charter schools have produced striking gains in some urban school districts; it’s time for skeptics to acknowledge their strengths.

Here’s an approach to charter schools that should seem obvious—to those on both sides of the acrimonious debate on the future of charters in public education.

In places where charter schools are not achieving results, they should be suspended or at least curtailed until whatever isn’t working can be fixed.

And in cities where charters are making striking gains compared to traditional public schools, enrollment opportunities should be expanded, so that more kids can take advantage of them.

A case-specific approach reflects the truism that schools are not a monolith; some traditional public schools achieve terrific results and some—particularly in inner cities—do not. Charter schools are similarly heterogeneous. School districts should take a page from pasta chefs: Throw the results against the wall and see what sticks.

The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), at Stanford University, has done that in a new study, and it turns out that charters, in general, are strongest exactly where the need is greatest—in urban areas. In some cities, such as Boston, students are achieving six times the growth in math knowledge as are their traditional school counterparts; in reading, four times as much.

The CREDO study also fingers cities where charters are plainly failing, although on average in the 41 urban areas it studied, charter students are clearly outpacing traditional-school peers. Notably, the methodology employed by CREDO seems to rule out the persistent accusation that charter schools get better results merely by “cherry-picking” abler or more motivated students.

For anyone who has spent the last couple of decades on Mars: Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are run outside traditional public systems. They are not bound by many of the rules that govern conventional schools, nor, typically, must they hire unionized teachers. Enrollment is open, with lotteries when there is a surfeit of applicants.

 

[Street Knowledge]

Although forests have been leveled for all the studies on charter schools, CREDO’s new study took an unusual tack. It studied students in multiple areas of the country—and exclusively studied urban areas. Three points emerged. When suburban charters were excluded, the smaller average gains registered in previous studies were suddenly magnified. In other words, charters seem to be remedying a particular defect of schools in the most challenged areas. Second, within those schools, gains were greatest among students—those in poverty, African-Americans, Hispanics, English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students—whose performance typically lags. Disadvantaged students gain the equivalent of months (or more) of extra learning for every year in a charter school.

And the third point was the great divergence among charter organizations (each of which has its own board and often a distinct approach, with varying levels of community engagement). Some are offering a superior alternative; some are not.

Tracking demographic ‘twins’

CREDO’s methodology was to pair each urban charter student with up to seven students at nearby traditional schools of a similar achievement level and demographic. Thus, a black male third-grader with strong reading and weak math scores enrolled in a charter school in Detroit was paired with a group of similar students at traditional public schools in Detroit. A girl in special education in Memphis would be similarly paired with a peer group in that city.

Over a six-year period, CREDO compared each charter student with the average of their demographic “twins.” This matching was done for more than one million students—a large enough sample so that the results would not be driven by chance.

It is true that charter students are drawn from a motivated group—those that care enough to apply. However, if a charter student’s home environment produced similar test scores to those of the matching group at the beginning of the sample period, one would expect equivalent results at the end as well.

But they weren’t equivalent. The charter students, according to the study, achieved “significantly higher levels of annual growth in both math and reading.” On average, students achieved the equivalent of 40 days of extra learning in math per year, and 28 days in reading. Moreover, with each year that a student stayed in charter school, relative results improved.

As noted, African-American and other disadvantaged groups performed particularly well, relative to their traditional school peers. Gains were strongest among students with “multiple disadvantages.” For instance, black students who were also poor achieved the equivalent of 59 days of additional learning in math compared to their traditional-school peers. Hispanic students who were also ESL advanced in math at the same rate as white peers in traditional schools—erasing a seemingly intractable learning gap.

 

[Scientific Playa]

Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are run outside traditional public systems. They are not bound by many of the rules that govern conventional schools, nor, typically, must they hire unionized teachers. Enrollment is open, with lotteries when there is a surfeit of applicants.

they get to cherry pick the students with the best potential. no municipal pensions for the teachers intrusted with the youth and workforce of tomorrow.


boils down to more Koch brothers union busting

 

[Serious]

@theworldismine13

 

[theworldismine13]

Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are run outside traditional public systems. They are not bound by many of the rules that govern conventional schools, nor, typically, must they hire unionized teachers. Enrollment is open, with lotteries when there is a surfeit of applicants.

they get to cherry pick the students with the best potential. no municipal pensions for the teachers intrusted with the youth and workforce of tomorrow.


boils down to more Koch brothers union busting

not having to follow government rules and unions is a good thing

and the solution to cherry picking is eliminating the regular public school system all together and just have charters and vouchers

 

[Scientific Playa]

not having to follow government rules and unions is a good thing

and the solution to cherry picking is eliminating the regular public school system all together and just have charters and vouchers

yes there are too many government rules and laws on the books but there has to be rules in place in civilized society for it to function with some sense of sanity and purpose.

unions have their place in municipalities. profit making private companies is another story.

and the solution to cherry picking is eliminating the regular public school system all together and just have charters and vouchers

^
are you serious with that comment and viewpoint?

 

[theworldismine13]

yes there are too many government rules and laws on the books but there has to be rules in place in civilized society for it to function with some sense of sanity and purpose.

unions have there place in municipalities. profit making private companies is another story.

and the solution to cherry picking is eliminating the regular public school system all together and just have charters and vouchers

^
are you serious with that comment and viewpoint?

who said that charter schools dont have rules, where are you getting this from?

who told you a school needs unionized teachers to teach children?

im serious with everything i said, the regular public school system should be eliminated, its part of a decrepit, pathetic system that has destroyed the minds of countless black children

 

[Shogun]

Amazing what schools can accomplish when they can pick and choose their students.

 

[Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson]

not having to follow government rules and unions is a good thing

and the solution to cherry picking is eliminating the regular public school system all together and just have charters and vouchers

i dont know whut a charder skool is but why havent u doneighted to da bond akademy yet?

http://www.thecoli.com/threads/pleese-doneight-to-da-bond-leedership-akademy.299277/

 

[theworldismine13]

i dont know whut a charder skool is but why havent u doneighted to da bond akademy yet?

http://www.thecoli.com/threads/pleese-doneight-to-da-bond-leedership-akademy.299277/

i prefer to donate to charter schools like urban prep, but thanks

Urban Prep Achieves 100 Percent College Acceptance
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/loca...100-Percent-College-Acceptance-254436321.html

 

[Shogun]

i prefer to donate to charter schools like urban prep, but thanks

Urban Prep Achieves 100 Percent College Acceptance
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/loca...100-Percent-College-Acceptance-254436321.html

But while students, staff and parents are celebrating the Class of 2014's achievements, critics say the students in danger of not graduating never even make it to senior year.

"Urban Prep is not for everyone, and those students may leave us," school founder and CEO Tim King, said. "But the fact that some students choose to leave us should not be used as a weapon against the students who have chosen to stay and have achieved this incredible accomplishment."

"Choose" to leave

 

[theworldismine13]

"Choose" to leave

yep

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

I hate them for the fact they take money from public schools then have the nerve to shyt on why the public school system sucks

 

[88m3]

cheating the system






Charter Schools are a scam

 

[EndDomination]

Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are run outside traditional public systems. They are not bound by many of the rules that govern conventional schools, nor, typically, must they hire unionized teachers. Enrollment is open, with lotteries when there is a surfeit of applicants.

they get to cherry pick the students with the best potential. no municipal pensions for the teachers intrusted with the youth and workforce of tomorrow.


boils down to more Koch brothers union busting

There shouldn't be charter schools in the US period.
There should be public schools and private schools.
All education funding should be poured into public day-cares, preschools, elementary, middle, high, and undergraduate universities.
Nothing should go to private or for-profit schools.
Urban charter schools are working just like magnet schools. They just grab who ever is best, and shave off those who can't cut it, they aren't special.
More teachers, more training, more oversight, more techniques used to succeed, close the funding gaps, allow for more, don't allow religious zealots to interfere in schools, if all of this happened, we would see comparable results in public schools.