Equal Access? Analyzing Charter Location Relative to Demographics in Ohio

We analyze the geographical distribution of, and access to, charter schools in the state of Ohio. Using poverty and race data from the U.S. Census, as well as publicly available student achievement scores, we analyze the locational preferences of charter schools. We use Geographic Information System (GIS) to visual display charter school locations relative to these community variables. Results suggest that policies limiting charters to locate in low performing school districts (labeled “challenged districts”) lead charters to cluster in urban cities; thus students living in poverty in large portions of the state lack easy access to school choice options. Further, we find that charters tend to avoid areas of the highest concentrations of poverty and Hispanic (though not Black) students.     

Rural Communities Lacking Multi-Sector Schooling Options: Indiana’s School Choice Deserts

ABSTRACT

Despite Indiana’s school choice landscape – including private school vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, inter-district and intra-district enrollment, magnet schools, and charter schools – not all Indiana communities have reasonable access to options outside of their traditional public schools. This research explores what lack-of-reasonable access differences – defined as greater than a 30-minute one-way drive time to a choice school – exist by locale, with a focus on rural communities. Geospatial analysis is used to identify “school choice deserts” lacking multi-sector schooling options in various communities. These deserts tend to exist wholly or mostly in rural areas, although Indiana students in grades K–8 exhibit greater access levels to non-traditional schools than those in high school.     

Evaluating Education Reform: Students' Views of Their Charter School Experience

Abstract

One aspect of charter schools that is often overlooked when one evaluates their success is the support that they receive from students. By using data from a survey of Texas charter school students, supplemented with statistics from the Texas Education Agency, the author examined students' satisfaction with their charter school, especially as it compared with their previous educational experiences. Results suggest that when students perceived that the charter school had higher quality teachers, better classes, and a more caring environment, they were more satisfied with their charter school than with their previous school. Furthermore, students most at risk for dropping out also were those who tended to be more supportive of their charter school.     

美国特许学校的办学绩效分析--来自美国加利福尼亚的报告

特许学校是美国20世纪90年代出现的一种新型公立学校.经过10多年的发展,特许学校的办学绩效引起了美国教育界的广泛关注.本文介绍了美国加州关于特许学校绩效分析的一份最新报告.     

Does choice matter for school choice? An instrumental variables analysis of the effect of choice on parental satisfaction in charter schools

I employ ordered probit regression and a new instrumental variable to compare the Fall 2015 parental satisfaction survey results of open-enrollment charters to district-conversion charters. Choice status in Arkansas charter schools is largely beneficial to parental satisfaction. Specifically, parents with children in open-enrollment charters had between a 17-percentage point and 32-percentage point higher likelihood of grading their current school as an A or responding as Highly Satisfied in six of nine quality categories. I find no evidence that parents rate the quality of schools similar to the analysts at the Arkansas Department of Education or that satisfaction differs in oversubscribed schools.     

美国择校制度对我国择校现象的启示——以特许学校为例

美国择校制度产生至今已有三十年了,其成果是显而易见的,文章通过追溯美国择校制度从无到有的发展,以特许学校为例,从微观角度去看美国择校制度在现实生活中是如何发展前进的,试图从中找到一些经验和方法能为我国所用。希望不仅能对处理我国择校现象有所帮助,而且对我国基础教育改革有所参考。     

美国特许学校改革与教育公平研究

特许学校改革是美国择校运动发展到近期出现的教育改革运动,是美国公立教育改革的重要组威部分.然而从美国第一所特许学校诞生的那天起,特许学校就受到来自各方面的争议,其中最大的担忧就是改革可能造成教育的分化与不公.本文从社会学视角出发,指出经过近20年发展,特许学校一方面促成了基于不同教育理念的社会分化,另一方面也更好地满足了不同社会群体的教育需求.特许学校改革的复杂性和未来的不确定性对我国教育改革有一定的启发意义.     

“The types of kids we get are different”—The distinguishing characteristics of school choosers in Detroit,Michigan

Providing improved educational options for low-income African American families has been one of the primary objectives of the charter school movement. However, among demographically similar families, school choosers may possess subtle advantages compared to nonchoosers, leading to biased estimates of charter school performance in nonexperimental research. This study examines within-group differences between school choosers and nonchoosers in Detroit, Michigan through semistructured interviews with parents (n = 31) and teachers (n = 23) in charter and public schools. Findings indicate differences between school choosers and nonchoosers in access to transportation, experience, social and professional networks, orientation toward choice, parental involvement, and home stability. These differences offer insight into potential controls for self-selection bias that may lead to improved statistical evaluations using nonexperimental methods.     

Gifted and Talented Programs in Charter Schools

ABSTRACT

The fact that the reform movement in public education has directed greater attention to the needs of underperforming students than to those of gifted and talented (G/T) students is both well documented and not surprising in the current political climate. Some advocates for G/T education greeted the growth of charter schools as promising a more receptive environment for G/T students and programs. Indeed, enthusiasm was so great that early critics of charter schools worried that they would result in “creaming” G/T students from the general population leaving public schools in worse shape than before (Wells et al., 1999). However, not only has evidence of this “creaming” not been found but, rather, only approximately 30% of charter schools report that they have a G/T program at all (Gruber et al., 2002). The charter schools in this study (n = 49) were found to provide varied instructional programs and employ recommended practices such as acceleration and project-based learning to meet the needs of their G/T students. They don't focus on identification of G/T students. While some schools are based on a philosophy that all students are gifted, others only recognize the gifts and talents as they emerge. We found that these schools provide flexible grouping and independent learning plans to assure that all students can progress as far as possible as quickly as possible.     

The District and Charter Sectors of American K–12 Education: Pros and Cons

This article probes ways in which the school-choice marketplace as it developed via chartering has not worked as well in practice as many had hoped. It includes reflection on the profoundly different operating principles and theories of action that separate the district and charter sectors in their pure forms. It also offers market-strengthening suggestions that blend the 2 approaches, organizing them under 10 categories.     

From Public Education to Educational Publics

Students tend to comprehend little and lose focus of classroom instruction when their teachers fail to use instructional strategies that match students’ learning styles. Differentiated instruction can alleviate or eliminate this disengagement. This article describes a case involving a child having difficulty learning and shows how differentiated instruction was used to help this student learn. The author describes the theories on which differentiated instruction is based and provides practical strategies teachers can use to implement this method of teaching.     

Leadership coaching: a multiple-case study of urban public charter school principals’ experiences

The purpose of our multi-case study was to understand the experiences of non-novice New York City and Washington, DC public charter school principals who had participated in leadership coaching as a component of their leadership development. Eight New York City and Washington DC public charter school principal cases were selected through purposeful sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, documents, and artifacts, which were analyzed, coded and grouped into three broader themes: the coaching process, the impact of coaching, and principal leader identity construction. The findings supported the following conclusions: (a) Participants’ experiences of coaching were inconsistent with the coaching literature; (b) The impact of coaching was shaped by perceived competencies of the coach and the structure of the coaching session; and (c) Participants’ leader identity construction was supported through the process of coaching.     

Why mission matters more for (some) charter principals

Reflecting post-bureaucratic organisation theory, education reformers intended charter schools to empower school-level leaders, most typically principals, with autonomy to pursue clear, student-centred missions. Yet little research explores whether charter school principals have more power than traditional public school counterparts. We summarise the limited literature addressing the issue. Second, we present findings from interviews with nine charter leaders from six US states who have experience in leading both charter and traditional public schools, a unique data set. Both prior research and our findings suggest that generally, leaders feel more likely to be held accountable for results in charter schools than in traditional public schools. Furthermore, without oversight from school boards and central office administrators, charter leaders report having more power over budget and personnel, and more ability to collaborate with teachers. At the same time, standalone charter leaders report needing business support and training, while those from charter management organizations feel free to focus on academic success.