The false promise of charter schools
Charter schools do not work as promised, writes Wayne Au, a University of Washington, Bothell education professor. One study indicates charters are two times as likely to widen achievement gaps as close them, he says.
Special to The Times
As the Washington state Legislature considers a bill proposing the introduction of charter schools, it is important that voters and representatives understand a critical point: While advocates claim charter schools will raise the achievement of African American, Latino and low-income students, there is little evidence to support this claim.
For instance, the study completed by the pro-charter Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), a research group at Stanford's politically conservative Hoover Institute, found that charter schools performed worse than