Studies indicate charter schools performing well in reading, math

A new analysis from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, at UW Bothell, shows evidence that charter elementary schools outperform traditional public schools in math and reading, and that charter middle schools excel in math as well. Economists Julian Betts and Emily Tang reviewed 40 high-quality studies of charter school achievement and analyzed the results. They found modest gains despite variation among charter schools. For example, the largest average effect, for math achievement in middle schools, suggests that on average a charter school attendee would gain about two percentile points per year relative to his or her counterparts in traditional public schools. The authors found no substantial difference on average in math or reading achievement between traditional and charter high schools or in reading achievement at the middle school level. The researchers found that charter school effects vary dramatically across regions and grades. For instance, while overall the effect of charter schools at the middle school level is small and insignificantly different from zero, one recent study of Boston schools found very large and positive effects.