The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University just released a comparison of academic performance for Indiana charter schools versus traditional government schools. The statistical comparison concluded that in Indiana, charter schools performed "dramatically" better than traditional schools. In reading all the charters but two were better, while in math all were better.
The comparisons were presented in terms of standard deviations, a statistical comparison which makes it hard to translate the data to differences in actual passing rates. This is the same measure CREDO used to do a national comparison, which called charter performance a mixed bag. But the national study, which did not include Indiana, was used by the JG's Karen Frisco to discredit charters schools across the board. We will, no doubt, see a follow up from Ms. Frisco, now that we have the Indiana data.
Charter schools are obviously not a panacea, but can be a viable option to failing government schools, depending on circumstances. In Indiana, they provide a comparable or better education for less cost to the taxpayer. The challenge for the charter advocates is to close down the ones that don't work academically. That's something that doesn't happen at all in government schools, as the closing of Elmhurst vividly demonstrated here.
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Evert-As expected the JG has an ed. page article by an "IU education expert" which says that the Stanford study was flawed and did not show measurable improvement. Why am I not surprized?
Like I said, Ms. Firsco cites the national CREDO statistics to discredit charters, then calls the CREDO data for Indiana flawed. Then there's IU which said full day kindergarten was "no worse" than half day. What a farce. Just keep giving our money to government schools.
Even a cursory review of IDOE data confirms the CREDO study: students at the overwhelming majority of Indiana charters are doing better year over year. That same data shows most charters have high percentages of students receiving free/reduced lunch. But the JG doesn't want poor and minority students to have the option of choosing charters. They want to keep students trapped in failing traditional schools so districts like FWCS can hang on to the dollars tied to those students.
My cursory review of IDOE data shows that only one charter performs in the top 25% of the state, and it should, it is an Evansville charter for high performing juniors and seniors who want a heavy Advanced Placement workload. Now, the bottom 25% includes 3 Imagine schools, 2 KIPP schools, and several other charters. But to be fair, good students who are performing well are not candidates for charters, except in the special Evansville case.
So let's take a look at student growth in Language, provided in percentiles by the IDOE. In the top 25% of growth, my cursory review included 4 charters, and Timothy L. Johnson was one of them. I also found 11 FWCS schools in the top 25% for growth. The bottom 10% by Language growth in the state included, surprise, 3 Imagine schools. My cursory review did not extend beyond the bottom 10% or include math because my eyes were bugging out.
In CREDO's national study of charters, states with multiple charter authorizers exhibited negative academic growth as compared to traditional public schools. If Indiana extensively expands its charter authorizers to other mayors and private colleges, as proposed in HB 1002, will that dilute the charter product, as predicted by CREDO?
Code Blue could probably open a charter under HB 1002, the Code Blue Academy, and pocket $180 per student!
The vast majority of the top schools in IDOE's rankings are traditional public schools in affluent areas or rural communities. Also common to many of these top schools are lower than average percentages of minority students.
Charters, on the other hand, tend to have student populations that are more diverse and less affluent. Add to that the fact that many students transfer to charters because they're families weren't happy with the traditional public school the student attended previously. So, as Siestagirl astutely pointed out, charters don't necessarily get the best performing students.
The CREDO study found, and the IDOE data indicates as well, charter students did better year to year.
It make sense why Indiana families are generally happy with their charter school. With a steady influx of kids transferring from under-performing schools, charters might not (yet) rank up there with Noblesville or Carmel schools, but parents are seeing their children do better year over year.
But Siestagirl raises another good question: will more authorizers be a good thing or a bad thing in terms of charter performance? Personally I don't think it will be an issue because I'd be shocked if we see more than one or two new authorizers (if any) in addition to the state board that would authorize new schools. Right now, Ball State and the Mayor of Indianapolis are the only ones who've stuck their necks out with charters. I doubt the new legislation is going to give any other universities the guts to get involved.
The study said that states which did not restrict the number of charter schools did better. States that had more entities authorizing charter schools did worse. Obviously starting a school is a huge undertaking requiring years to get it right. High schools are the hardest. I just don't anticipate new charters sprouting up all over the place, certainly not enough to justify the hysterics from the government school crowd. More could come from conversion of existing urban schools failing under PL221. But then the IDE would have to show they're serious, which I'm not convinced is the case.
At least not until the Democrats snuck off to Illinois. All Tony would have to do is make the tests harder this time.
The one flaw that the study has, is it misses out on discipline. From what I have been told, the charter schools hold their kids to the nail in regards to discipline problems. Charter schools don't have to worry about layers of administrators telling principals and teachers NOT to students up.
I heard that Imagine on Broadway sent 100 students packing last year, because the kids were not able to contain themselves in the public schools.
I am waiting for the day a teacher is maimed in FWCS or EACS due to an out of control student.
I've heard about numerous incidents over the past years, but it would have to pretty severe before it came out in public. Government schools lost control when they took it away from teachers and went to "due process". Mostly those procedures put them right back in class while the case winds through the system. You can't assume charter schools won't end up with the same thing eventually.
The problem IS that the students are not being held accountable by anyone, in some schools. It is formed that Tommy Smith, while at Wayne High School, was AFRAID of the the students. There was no control at the school, before he got there, during his tenure and after he left.
I talked to a sophomore, basketball team member from Wayne, who stated she was afraid of going to school somedays because of the sheer violence in the hallways. When you have guns, knives and gangs that rule the school, students will be horrible. I heard the arrest rate for the school is approximately 5 students per week.
The situation south of Coliseum has deteriorated to the point of no return. Wendy can only ship so many of them to Northrup and Snider. Of course the district can't admit to the problem which also means the6y can't address it. Maybe another building project willl divert our attention for a while.
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