Are charters' students doing better? New way of grading schools will tell
BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
The latest report on Michigan's charter schools, to be presented to the state Board of Education today, does not compare the performance of charter students to those in traditional public schools -- a controversial practice done in past years.
In previous years, the annual report compared test scores in all charter schools with the average score of 20 traditional (and mostly low-performing) districts in which about 75% of Michigan charter schools are located. By that measure, charter schools do better.
The new 33-page annual report, created by the Michigan Department of Education and Michigan State University, explores topics including student performance and profiles. The report also recommends giving the department more authority over charter schools and a small increase in funding to pay for that.
But when it comes to how charter school students are faring academically, the report focuses only on charter school performance, stating in this year's report, "Performance growth is measured as it should be: not against any other school, but against the PSA's (Public School Academy's) own track record of achievement."
The report shows charter student performance improving on the MEAP exam. In math, for instance, 73% of student met or exceeded expectations in 2008, compared with 67.1% the year prior.
However, when the report was released last year, a Free Press analysis comparing charters