Choice & Charter Schools
Choice & Charter Schools
Students in downstate and suburban Illinois lack real school choice: The Illinois Policy Institute sheds light on the lack of school options that exist outside of Chicago because of hostility from local school boards. The problem? Lack of multiple charter school authorizers. Get IPI’s report here, and CER’s multiple authorizers primer here.
“Charter Benefits Are Proven by the Best Evidence”: Studies employing the gold standard of research methods — randomized trials — indicate charters are helping students achieve at greater levels. Like reducing the black-white reading gap in middle school by two-thirds kind of achievement. Jay Greene explains why charter supporters should refrain from citing weaker evidence when going to bat for school choice.
Speaking of charter achievement… check out the lastest edition of U.S. World & News Report’s high school rankings for a list of the nation’s top charter schools.
A recent ChoiceMedia.tv interview with Connecticut’s State Board of Education Chairman Allan Taylor signals the importance of spreading the word when it comes to the benefits of charter schools. When the leader was told CER rated his state’s charter school law a “D,” he responded, “I’m not interested in becoming some of the other states the have thousands of charter schools. I really don’t see any evidence that that’s gonna help the education system.”
Houston, We Have a Solution: Co-founder of the Knowledge Is Power Program and current superintendent of KIPP Houston schools Mike Feinberg explains how charter schools may solve bureaucratic red tape in the American school system in the Atlantic.
The Essential Guide to Charter School Law: The Center for Education Reform’s 2012 Charter School Laws Across the States is here! Get a quick overview with the ranking & scorecard, and more detailed explanations of each state’s rating with the full report. A web briefing on the report can be accessed here.
Laws & Legislation
Which states allow for parents to choose the right educational option for their children? What does a strong charter law look like? Are choice scholarship programs constitutional? What are my legislators doing to improve school choice in my state? Read more.
Facts
Click here for all the basics about charter schools, tax credits, and voucher programs across the country. Find out where they are located, how they work and why they are needed in the US.
Advocacy
There are legislators in your state and every one of them has a tremendous amount of power to affect what happens to your school and to schools in your community. It is important that you reach out to your lawmakers frequently to show your support for education reform. Here’s what you can do to help.
Achievement
Are school choice and charter schools working for children? For the latest data and findings on school choice achievement and charter school success, click here.
Research
There are few issues in education that evoke more interest and emotion than school choice and charter schools. For all the latest research from CER and other policymakers, click here.
