Fordham’s latest report
Charter School Autonomy: A Half-Broken Promise is well worth reading (disc: I was on the advisory panel). We’ve known for a while that some states restrict charter school freedoms more than others, but this report adds an important dimension to the issue of charter school autonomy by digging into how charter school authorizers do, or don’t, restrict charter school operations. The report finds that on average authorizers reduce charter schools’ overall autonomy ‘grade’ from a B+ to a B-.
Autonomy and accountability are often thought of as a trade-off in charter schooling–expanded autonomy in exchange for increased accountability. But this report shows that there is also an intersection between autonomy and accountability, and that accountability may ultimately impinge on autonomy. This may be in the form of additional requirements in a charter application, subtle pressure from an authorizer to use a particular
