Study Finds Achievement Mixed at Charters Run by Networks - Inside School Research - Education Week

Study Finds Achievement Mixed at Charters Run by Networks - Inside School Research - Education Week:

Study Finds Achievement Mixed at Charters Run by Networks

By Sarah D. Sparks on November 3, 2011 1:40 AM | 1 Comment | Recommend

From guest blogger Nirvi Shah:

A new national study on the effectiveness of the networks that operate charter schools finds that their students' test scores in math, science, and social studies improve after they have spent a year or two at the school, but not by much.

Overall, the report out today finds that middle school student achievement varies widely at schools run by charter-management organizations, which are the groups that establish and operate multiple charter schools. Most networks seem to produce a positive effect on student achievement, compared with results for students in district-run schools in the same area that are not run by CMOs. Some actually have a negative effect. The overall impact, however, tends not to be statistically significant, according to the report by from Mathematica and the

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

New Grades On Charter Schools

In order to create some good ones, we're going to have to live with some lemons

By ANDREW J. ROTHERHAM | @arotherham | November 3, 2011 | +

JUSTIN PUMFREY / GETTY IMAGES

The two most common criticisms about charter schools are that A) many of them aren’t that good and B) the good ones can’t be replicated to serve enough kids to really make a difference. TIME got an exclusive first look at the most comprehensive evaluation of charter school networks ever, and although the study, which will be released on Nov. 4, underscores the challenge of creating quality schools, it also makes clear that it is indeed possible to build a lot of schools that are game-changers for a lot of students.

The study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education, examined networks of affiliated charter schools, which in the education world are referred to as charter school management organizations (CMOs).

Read more: http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/03/new-grades-on-charter-schools/#ixzz1cfglYZ2R