Test scores complicate the debate over expanding L.A. charter schools
As the battle to greatly expand charter schools in Los Angeles begins, both sides are touting statistics they claim make their case.
Charter forces point to test scores showing that their students, on average, do better than those in L.A. Unified.
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FOR THE RECORD: A previous version of this article said that charter backers led by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation seek to raise nearly half a million dollars to more than double the number of charters within eight years. The amount sought is nearly half a billion dollars.
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L.A. Unified officials put forward a different set of numbers. They argue that it's more accurate to compare charter schools not with the district as a whole but with magnet schools. In that match, magnets generally do better.
The data game is an early skirmish with big implications as charter backers, led by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, seek to raise nearly half a billion dollars to more than double the number of charters within eight years. The cornerstone of their campaign is to prove, through statistics, that L.A. Unified is failing students and that parents should have the option of enrolling in charters.
There is general agreement that overall student achievement in LAUSD is disappointing, with dropout rates and test scores worse than state averages. In recent years, the district had made gains compared with the state, but that trend reversed this year under new, more rigorous tests.
"The charter schools send out certain data and LAUSD sends out certain data and you can get lost in the data," said Antonia Hernández, head of the California Community Foundation who works with L.A. Unified and is involved in the charter expansion discussions. "When the adults stop fighting over data, the issue is where will parents be as far as choice and where will students be as far as getting a good education."
Magnet schools, which offer specialized programs, were created to promote integration. They are district-run; teachers and other staff are represented by unions. They enroll 67,700 students.
Charters are independently operated and exempt from some rules that govern traditional schools. Most are non-union. They enroll more than 100,000 students.
Charters have proved highly popular with parents, and L.A. has more of them than any other district in the country. The plan by charter proponents, outlined in a strategy report obtained by The Times this week, calls for 260 new charters.
The Broad Foundation said Friday that it "has watched as the number of families seeking to enroll their children in public charter schools has increased dramatically. Many more families are waiting for a spot at these schools. As a funder, our only goal is to help all families who want access to a high-quality public school for their children."
Comparing schools is tricky, educators, researchers and others say.
Parents can choose to send their children to magnets or charters, which could be a meaningful difference compared with traditional schools, said Li Cai, co-director of the National Center for Research on Test scores complicate the debate over expanding L.A. charter schools - LA Times:
