Students In Charter Schools More Proficient Than Students In Nearby Schools.

A national report released by Harvard University found that students attending California charter schools are more proficient in both reading and math than students attending nearby traditional public schools. The Harvard University report also found that California charter schools that have been in operation for six or more years had proficiency gains that were nearly twice as pronounced as nearby public schools.

The Harvard University report, which looked at students that come from similar neighborhoods, face similar economic conditions and attend similar public schools, found that students attending a California charter school were 8.5 percent more likely to be proficient in reading and 5.0 percent more likely to be proficient in math than students attending a nearby public school. When looking only at California charter schools that have been in operation for at least six years, students attending them were 11.8 percent more likely to be proficient at reading and 12.2 percent more likely to be proficient at math than students attending nearby public schools.

“The longer that charter schools have the opportunity to educate students, the better those students do,” said Caprice Young, CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. “California’s charter schools are taking in students who have not had access to a high-quality public education and they are getting them on the path to success. It’s time that all communities have access to high-quality public charter schools.”

One example of a charter school that is demonstrating significant achievement gains compared to surrounding schools is the Watts Learning Center, recently named a California Distinguished School and which serves a student population that falls almost entirely below the federal poverty line. Watts Learning Center, a charter school in its eighth year, scored a 786 on this year’s Academic Performance Index (API). This score was more than 100 points higher (out of 1,000) than the second highest performing school in Los Angeles Unified’s District 7, and 200 points higher than the average for all District 7 neighborhood schools.

“We are able to provide the support necessary for high academic achievement simply because we have the empowering autonomy as a charter school,” said Gene Fisher, Founding President of the Watts Learning Center. “By being able to make decisions at the local school level, we are able to successfully address the needs of our students and their families without having to go to a distant, impersonal source for permission.”

The Harvard University study, commissioned by Harvard Professor of Economics Caroline Hoxby, looked at 99 percent of available data on charter schools nationwide, a much greater percentage than the three percent sample used by the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Hoxby’s report matches fourth grade charter school students against fourth grade students in the nearest regular public schools with a comparable population that factors in ethnicity and income.

Professor Hoxby’s report found that charter schools nationwide are 5.2 percent more likely to be proficient at reading and 3.2 percent more likely to be proficient at math. Hoxby also found that states where charter schools are more established tended to have greater proficiency gains. Also, Hoxby found that charter schools nationwide are particularly effective at raising the achievement of low-income or Hispanic students.

“Charter schools tend to arise in areas where students are disadvantaged and families have had little ability to exit underperforming schools,” said Hoxby. “Sure enough, charter schools make the most difference with such students.”

For more information at http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/pepg/.