Charter School Performance Study Finds Small Gains
Charter school students on average slightly outpace comparable public school kids in reading and tie them in math, according to a large study of academic performance that shows slow but steady charter school improvement in some states since 2009.
Charter students on the whole end the school year with reading skills eight instructional days ahead of public school kids, and perform at about the same rate as public school students in math, according to the study released Tuesday by Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes, or CREDO. In math, the study found that 29 percent of charter schools showed "significantly stronger learning gains" than their public school peers, with 40 percent performing similarly and 31 percent "significantly weaker." In reading, 25 percent of charters showed "significantly stronger learning gains" than public schools, 56 percent showed no difference and 19 percent showed "significantly weaker gains."
CREDO looked at 2.3 million charter students in 25 states and two cities -- New York and Washington. It is likely the biggest study of charter schools to date -- bigger than the Stanford group's 2009 study of charter
Charter students on the whole end the school year with reading skills eight instructional days ahead of public school kids, and perform at about the same rate as public school students in math, according to the study released Tuesday by Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes, or CREDO. In math, the study found that 29 percent of charter schools showed "significantly stronger learning gains" than their public school peers, with 40 percent performing similarly and 31 percent "significantly weaker." In reading, 25 percent of charters showed "significantly stronger learning gains" than public schools, 56 percent showed no difference and 19 percent showed "significantly weaker gains."
CREDO looked at 2.3 million charter students in 25 states and two cities -- New York and Washington. It is likely the biggest study of charter schools to date -- bigger than the Stanford group's 2009 study of charter
Patty Murray Pre-K Push Planned In Tuesday Speech
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a former preschool teacher, will unveil a major push for expanding early education in a speech at the Center for American Progress Tuesday.
She will outline a bill she is drafting along with Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) that mirrors an Obama administration proposal to increase preschool access.
"In recent years, our budget debate has been too focused on averting artificial crises," Murray said in prepared remarks. “This has made it extremely difficult to focus on policies that confront real, long-term problems, like maintaining our leadership in the 21st century and continuing to grow our middle class. Expanding access to
She will outline a bill she is drafting along with Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) that mirrors an Obama administration proposal to increase preschool access.
"In recent years, our budget debate has been too focused on averting artificial crises," Murray said in prepared remarks. “This has made it extremely difficult to focus on policies that confront real, long-term problems, like maintaining our leadership in the 21st century and continuing to grow our middle class. Expanding access to
