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Sunday, April 7, 2013

Jersey Jazzman: So Much To Debunk; So Little Time...

Jersey Jazzman: So Much To Debunk; So Little Time...:


So Much To Debunk; So Little Time...

Oy...
NJ Gov. Chris Christie announced last week that the state will take over Camden’s long-troubled school system. The courageous move, the latest piece of Christie’s impressive education-reform agenda, could signal a turnaround for one of the country’s most dangerous and depressed cities. 
[...] 
Stanford University’s research team recently found that New Jersey charter schools posted “some of the largest learning gains we have seen to date.” This, when Stanford had found disappointing results for charters elsewhere. 
Newark’s charter students stood out — posting gains roughly equivalent to spending an extra seven to nine months in school each year. Newark’s successful charters include KIPP’s TEAM schools, Uncommon Schools’ North Star Academy, Robert Treat Academy and Gray Charter School. [emphasis mine]
Newark's charters "stood out" in the CREDO report because the charters in New Jersey's other cities - including Camden - actually did worse than public schools (p. 16). And the reason for that is Newark's charters are far more likely to segregate children by disability, poverty status, language, and even gender than the