Opinion: CREDO’s Study of Charter Schools in NJ Leaves Many Unanswered Questions
Last week, with much fanfare, a study comparing standardized test scores of New Jersey’s charter school students to those of their public school peers was released by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). As a professor of public policy, a supporter of public education, and a parent of a charter school student, I have four questions that I would like to ask the authors.
Question #1: Why does the CREDO press release misrepresent the study’s findings?
The CREDO press release claimed that “New Jersey charter public schools significantly outperform their district school peers.” However, this is not even remotely what the CREDO study found.
First, the CREDO study looked at only about half of New Jersey’s charter schools (46 out of 86).
Second, the study excluded another quarter of the state’s charter school students (23 percent), particularly those from groups that score lower on standardized test scores (students who have to repeat a grade, students with special needs, and students with limited knowledge of English).
Third, the study did not include students who had left charter schools. This is especially problematic
State May Ease Alternate-Route Rules for Charter-School TeachersEducation Department provision would provide more flexibility in hiring, training
The Christie administration has proposed easing some of the state’s teacher-certification rules for charter schools, saying the move would give the schools more flexibility in hiring.
The provision, which is tucked deep within the administration’s Professional Licensure and Standards Code for NJ Teachers proposed new administrative code for teacher licensure], would essentially give charter schools their own alternate route similar to the state’s long-established and popular “alternate route” process for hiring public-school teachers who did earn a traditional education degree in college.
The proposal, which is now before the state Board of Education, is facing some resistance from the state’s dominant teachers union, among others. But it nonetheless moved ahead with preliminary