Encouraging but limited view of charter public school progress

Families and educators may be interested in a new national report about charter and district public schools.  Whether they have one or several of  more than 39,000 Minnesota students attending a charter, or a district, private or parochial school, the report contains encouraging information.  However, the study also has important limitations.

Any study summarizing public schools needs to recognize the vast array of charter and district schools offered.  For example, Minnesota has district and charter public schools that are arts-focused, Montessori, American Sign Language, Chinese, French, German, Hmong, Russian, and Spanish Immersion, Classical, International Baccalaureate, project-based,  “on-line” and “second chance.”

This is the second major national report done by the Center for Research on Educational Options (CREDO) at Stanford University. The first was in 2009.  This year’s report covers public schools in Minnesota, the District of Columbia, 26 states and New York City which researchers “treated separately as the city differs dramatically from the rest of the state.” CREDO says that 95 percent of the nation’s charter public school students live in these states and districts.

The report focuses exclusively on gains in state-wide reading and math scores – important but not the only important ways to judge students and schools.  CREDO found

  • Overall, gains since 2009 in reading and math
  • Larger increases for African American, Hispanic, English Language learners and students from low income families
  • Gains partly because some low performing schools were closed, and new schools opened,  plus improvements in some existing schools.

CREDO’s researchers recommended closing more low performing schools and studying “what plans, what models, what personnel attributes and what internal systems provide the appropriate signals that lead to high performing schools.”

So CREDO shows that some charters are helping close achievement gaps.  That’s encouraging.

What are the report’s  limitations?

First, responding to a question I asked, Devora Davos a CREDO Research Manager, acknowledged that the study was “able to include only a very few high school students in Minnesota and only for reading, because it is tested in grade 10.”  This information should have been in the report.

Second, what’s important about schools?   Most people think about several factors, such as program, attendance, safety, and in secondary schools, graduation rates.  Bob Wedl, former Minnesota Commissioner of Education and I agree that it’s also valuable to know what percentages of a school’s students earn college credits and attend some form of one, two or four year post-secondary program. CREDO’s report covers none of those issues.

The report also continues an unfortunate tendency of some researchers, advocates and critics of district and charter public school.   CREDO tries to compare dramatically different schools.  The list above helps illustrate the array of approaches Minnesota charters and district schools are using.

Can we compare gas mileage of leased and rented cars?  No, it’s meaningless because cars in both categories vary widely.  The same applies to district and charters.  We should be learning from district and charters whose students make significant progress – and not just on tests.

Tom Watkins, former Michigan State Superintendent of Public Instruction wrote,  “Too much of the education debate is traditional school v charter school…political rhetoric has never educated a single child. …We need to get to the point that the only adjective that matters before the word SCHOOL—is QUALITY.”

Tony Simmons, co-director of High School for Recording Arts, an award winning Minnesota charter  criticized “ this false debate of charters vs. district schools. Each should be used to inform the other regarding best practices and move more towards cooperation and collaboration… The question any family or student should have in choosing a school is whether a given school, charter or district, is a good choice for their needs and expectations. “

 

Joe Nathan, formerly a Minnesota public school teacher, directs the Center for School Change.  Reactions welcome, please comment below