Study Finds Public Charter Schools Narrow City-Suburb Achievement Gap

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/30/05charters-2.h29.html

A new study finds that New York City’s public charter schools are closing achievement gaps between disadvantaged inner-city students and their wealthier suburban peers. The study, based on eight years of data for students applying to the city’s public charters, finds that attending a public charter school from kindergarten to 8th grade can close the achievement gap with a similar student in the affluent suburb of Scarsdale, N.Y., by 86 percent in mathematics and 66 percent in reading. By comparison, the “Harlem-Scarsdale” gap only widens over the same span of grades for students who remain in regular public schools. For high school students, the study found that attending a public charter school increased the likelihood that a student would earn a state regents diploma by age 20 by 7 percent for each year spent in a public charter school. Experts said the study is important because it explores what successful public charter schools might be doing differently. Schools that held classes 10 or more days longer each year tended to produce better achievement. Other school characteristics associated with better student achievement include: more time on English instruction; teacher pay plans based on teachers' effectiveness, principals' evaluations, or whether teachers took on additional duties; an emphasis on academics in schools' mission statements; and a classroom policy of punishing or rewarding the smallest of student infractions.

Source: Education Week (subscription required)
Date: 09/25/2009
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