美国特许学校内外部绩效责任之分析

特许学校是美国的一种新型办学形式,与公立学校相比负有更大的绩效责任。本文详细地分析了特许学校的内外部绩效责任。     

解析美国特许学校的经费制度

特许学校是美国的一种新型公立学校,其经费来源有别于传统公立学校。本文首先分析了造成各州之间和一州之内特许学校经费差异的影响因素,在此基础上,介绍了特许学校收入的组成要素和各州特许学校经费制度的特征。这一制度与特许学校内外部的绩效责任也有着密切的联系,保证了特许学校对财政和经费负起直接的绩效责任。     

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.     

美国特许学校的运行机制探略

美国的大多数特许学校在有关学校管理运作的关键方面有主要控制权 ,但在学校财务、学生学业成就、教学实践方面及合同遵守方面也承担着责任。我们有必要从学校、学校主管部门和州联邦政府三个层面来探讨美国特许学校运行机制问题 ,以便对我国的学校改革有所启示。美国各州或联邦《特许学校法》都规定 :特许学校要为公立学校建立一种新的绩效制模式 ,希望通过创造一种改革动力来促进教育体制的自我改进。根据“通用教育绩效制原则” ,特许学校注重增加教育透明度 ,即特许学校倡导者们称之为“通过透明度带来绩效制”① 。传统公立学校使用的…     

今日美国特许学校

（接上期）二、特许学校的创办国的及其特征从政府角度而言,提出创办特许学校,主要在于给家长为其子女选择合适的公立学校的权利,并在改革公立教育的过程中提供一种选择模式和形成竞争的氛围。这正如克林顿在１９９９年宣布拨款９５０万美元用于特许学校时所指出的：由于有了特许学校,“我们可以通过让公立学校自由地创造、革新并负起责任,来提高标准、期望和绩效责任。这是一种我们希望所有儿童都能受到的教育。”美国教育部副部长泰洛齐（ＧｅｒａｌｄＶ．Ｔｉｒｏｚｚｉ）在美国众议院就特许学校作证时也曾认为,“特许学校在提高教…     

我国学校委托管理与美国特许学校之比较研究

美国的特许学校与我国的委托管理都是在公立学校改革过程中出现的新型管理方式,两者在背景因素、主体因素、管理方式等方面既有相同之处,也有不同之处。本文试图通过比较研究,辨析出美国特许学校和我国学校委托管理的特点,并且借鉴特许学校的优点,从法律、中介组织、绩效责任体制、管理自由度等方面,为我国学校委托管理进一步的发展提出建议。     

美国特许学校政策演变及启示

特许学校作为美国近10年发展起来的一种新型公立学校形式。以其灵活的办学形式、高效的办学绩效极大地促进了美国教育的公平。对这一办学形式产生背景、内在特性的分析以及与我国基础教育公平程度现状的比较,可以发现我国在促进教育公平的进程中可积极实施分类特许学校制度。引入绩效考评机制、逐步改变教育投资重心,明确国家责任,从而形成一个全社会重视基础教育公平建设的氛围。     

美国特许学校发展对我国教育公平改革的启示

特许学校作为美国近一二年发展起来的一种新型公立学校形式。以其灵活的办学形式、高效的办学绩效极大的促进了美国教育的公平。对这一办学形式特点、本土化分析以及与我国基础教育公平程度现状的比较后。可以发现我国在促进教育公平的进程中可积极实施分类特许学校制度,引入绩效考评机制、逐步改变教育投资重心,明确国家责任,从而形成一个全社会重视基础教育公平建设的氛围。     

美国特许学校的特点及对我国公立学校办学的启示

特许学校是20世纪90年代初期在美国教育改革中出现的一种新型公立学校。本文对特许学校在经费来源与使用、绩效责任制、教师聘用、课程设置与教学等方面的特点进行了介绍和分析,剖析其特点能为我国公立中学办学提供一些启示。     

从我国公立学校转制看美国特许学校

公立学校转制是我国教育体制改革的一种新的探索和尝试 ,转制的出发点是对自身的扬弃 ,是为扭转我国传统公立学校日益暴露的投资渠道单一、经费不足、管理机械、特色暗淡等弊端 ,以增强我国公立学校的活力 ,加速薄弱校建设 ,保证义务教育的顺利完成。为了探究我国公立学校转制的经验和发展趋势 ,我们完全有必要从教育发展的国际视野中 ,重新审视一下２１世纪末风靡美国的特许学校的发展轨迹 ,以期能对我国公立学校转制具有一定的借鉴意义。一、美国特许学校（一）特许学校特许学校（ＣｈａｒｔｅｒＳｃｈｏｏｌ）是美国一种新型公立学校 ,主…     

美国特许学校兴起、纷争及动向

1992年以来,发展特许学校成为美国改善K12教育的重要创新举措,引起诸多利益相关者的强烈关注。在特许学校扩展进程中,不同研究对其是否为学生提供了有质量的教育,是否推动了传统公立学校改进,是否促进了教育机会公平等成效表现存在不同判断。当前,在教育自由选择理念的主导下,美国政府不断完善特许学校发展的政策支持体系,采取包括加大对特许学校财政资金的资助力度、强化对特许学校授权机构的问责、增强对特许学校质量评价的综合性等一系列针对性措施。     

News and Communications

ABSTRACT

The author examined how local charter school educators respond to the accountability measures being imposed on them. Encouraged by early indications of increased test scores, state and federal policymakers continue to support accountability as an effective means to improve schools. Surprisingly, there has been little research on local educators’ experiences with and responses to such reforms. This lack of research is striking because teachers, principals, and superintendents are directly responsible for the implementation of accountability mandates, including administering tests, teaching to the state standards, and implementing state-approved curriculum packages. In an effort to understand teachers’ and administrators’ experiences with public school accountability, the author explores how educators in 4 charter schools in Michigan understand recent accountability mandates with respect to school reform.     

Privatising form or function? Equity,outcomes and influence in American charter schools

The American experiment with charter schools advanced on dual impulses of increasing opportunities for disadvantaged students and unleashing market competition. While critics see these independently managed schools as a form of privatisation, proponents contend that they are public schools because of funding and accountability arrangements and potential benefits, and believe that the economic logic around these schools will produce equitable educational opportunities. This analysis considers how charters are or are not instances of privatisation in education, showing that the marketised environment they are intended to nurture serves as a route for profit-seeking strategies. In reviewing the research on charter school organisational behaviour and outcomes in marketised environments, I find evidence of de facto privatisation in function if not in form. As charter schools often act like profit-seeking entities, but fail to achieve expected academic and equity outcomes, the concluding discussion considers how these schools are placed between conflicting goals, and serve as entry points for private organisations seeking to penetrate the publicly funded education sector. I conclude that perhaps their most important role is in serving as a vehicle for privatising public policy—diminishing the public while enhancing the position and influence of private interests and organisations in education policymaking.     

Bang for the Buck: Autonomy and Charter School Efficiency in Milwaukee

Charter schools are a relatively new phenomenon in American education. Since the first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1991, they have expanded to 42 states and represent 6.2% of all public schools in the country.¹ This growth has been attributed to a number of factors, chief among them evidence that charter schools can improve performance (Lamdin and Mintrom, 1997). While there is a substantial evidence for relative performance benefits of charter schooling (e.g. CREDO, 2015) far less research been conducted on the efficiency of charter schools relative to traditional public schools. What research there is has produced both positive (e.g. Wolf et. al., 2014) and negative results (e.g. Carpenter and Noller, 2010). What can account for the disparity in these findings? In this paper, I make the case that differences in charter efficiency may be accounted for by differences in their level of autonomy from the school district. I base this argument on economic theories that the devolution of power to the lowest level possible tends to produce gains in efficiency (Johnson, 1991; Duncombe and Yinger, 1997). Those that are “on the ground” are thought to be more effective at monitoring expenditures, and allocations of resources have to pass through less ‘red tape (Hess 2006).’ In addition, more autonomous charter schools better fit the original purpose of charter schools in devolving power from centralized authorities (Budde, 1996). In order to test this theory, I take advantage of a unique situation that exists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in which three types of charter schools with varying levels of autonomy operate simultaneously. Using school type as a proxy for autonomy, I find that more independent charter schools are more efficient than traditional public schools and charter schools with less autonomy.     

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Comparing Teacher Mobility in Florida's Charter and Traditional Public Schools

Currently, we know very little about the mobility decisions of charter public school teachers and how these compare to the decisions made by traditional public school teachers. In addition, it is unclear whether the teachers who leave charter schools tend to be weaker or stronger than their peers. Using statewide administrative data, I begin to answer these questions by studying the magnitude and nature of teacher turnover in Florida's charter public schools compared with turnover in the state's traditional public schools. It appears that Florida's charter school administrators may be better able to recruit and retain teachers with high academic skills than their traditional counterparts. In addition, the mobility patterns exhibited by Florida's charter school teachers differ from those exhibited by traditional school teachers in important ways, including greater sensitivity to accountability measures and less sensitivity to salary considerations.     

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.     

The impact of charter schools on the efficiency of traditional public schools: Evidence from Michigan

This paper examines the competitive effects of charter schools on the efficiency of traditional public schools. The analysis utilizes a statewide school-level longitudinal dataset of Michigan schools from 1994 to 2004. Fixed effect and two alternative estimation methods are employed. Overall, the results suggest that charter competition had a negative impact on student achievement and school efficiency in Michigan's traditional public schools. The effect is small or negligible in the short run, but becomes more substantial in the long run.     

Special Education in American Charter Schools: State level policy,practices and tensions

The US charter school movement is based upon the supposition that granting individual public schools increased autonomy from state and district rules and regulations in exchange for more accountability will foster the creation of innovative, effective and efficient schools. However, while state charter school laws free these schools from various state and district rules and regulations, the schools must still operate within the civil rights parameters legislated by federal statutes. Of particular import are federal laws that guarantee that children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education. Project SEARCH, a 3 year qualitative study of special education in US charter schools revealed that there is a fundamental philosophical gap between the individualised, autonomous nature of charter schools and the highly regulated nature of special education. The philosophical gap is complicated by some charter schools' inability to amass the fiscal and human capacity needed to meet the needs of individual children with disabilities.     

Charter Schools,Academic Achievement and NCLB

ABSTRACT

The reform movement embracing charter schools is based largely on the promise that these autonomous schools will out-perform public schools plagued by bureaucratic administration-an expectation reflected in the federal NCLB law. However, the many state-based reports have been mixed, and previous national studies have suffered from serious methodological shortcomings. In a multi-dimensional analysis of a large and comprehensive dataset, we found charter elementary schools performing at a level beneath those of non-charter public schools, even after accounting for differences in student demographics and school location. In view of this and previous studies, the best current estimate of the performance of charter schools is that any academic advantage is negligible, isolated, or even negative relative to achievement in non-charter public schools. Implications regarding the premise of the federal law are considered. doi:10.1300/J467v01n03_07