In The News.
The education theory that kids aren't cookies and schools shouldn't be cookie cutters has helped feed the growing charter school movement. Yet a recipe for successful education reform has remained elusive.
It's heartening that a new report out of Stanford University has compiled information tracking individual charter student performance over time, then created a traditional public school “virtual twin” to see which school environment delivers the best results for specific student populations.
Overall, charter students in Denver, Chicago, Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri had higher learning gains than their traditional school counterparts. Students in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Minnesota and Ohio had lower gains.
In addition, nationally, charter students in elementary and middle schools had higher gains, charter students living in poverty and English-language learners had significantly higher results, and charter students who attend their school for three years straight had significantly higher gains.
On the flip side, high school charter students didn't fare as well as traditional school students, nor did minority students.
It's important that all states, not just those involved in the study, dig into the data for what works for which student populations, then consider implementing reforms along those lines.
The report recommends contracts outlining expectations for charter student performance, but why stop there? Traditional school students deserve standards that don't stop at a campus fence or state line.
The Stanford study presents the opportunity to base education reform on empirical data of individual progress instead of the latest policy flavor of the month. That holds more promise of serving up the results parents — and taxpayers — have been waiting on for years.
Posted June 17, 2009