Twelve studies find that overall gains in charter schools are larger than other public schools; four find charter schools’ gains higher in certain significant categories of schools; six find comparable gains; and, four find that charter schools’ overall gains lagged behind traditional schools.
Source: Charter School Achievement: What We Know, July 2005 Update
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http://www.uscharterschools.org/cs/r/view/uscs_rs/1712
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) establishes, administers, and coordinates federal assistance in education. The mission of ED ensures that all students have equal access to education and promotes excellence in the nation's schools. Charter schools are a prime example of the type of coordinated effort that is possible between the federal government and the States.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) establishes, administers, and coordinates federal assistance in education. The mission of ED ensures that all students have equal access to education and promotes excellence in the nation's schools. That said, it is important to remember that education in the United States remains the primary responsibility of state and local governments. For its part, the federal government fills gaps in State and local support for education when critical needs arise.
Charter schools are a prime example of the type of coordinated effort that is possible between the federal government and the States. Illustrative of this point, Minnesota passed the first charter school law in 1991 that allowed for the development and operation of publicly funded charter schools. Three years later, the ED, through the Charter Schools Program (CSP), began a competitive grant program for alleviating the financial constraints in planning and starting a charter school. By helping charter school developers overcome startup challenges, the federal government sought to increase the number of charter schools operating nationwide.
Since 1995, when CSP started administering start-up grants, the number of states that have passed charter laws has risen to 40, not including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Accordingly, federal policy makers have allocated more funds to the grant program. In fiscal year (FY) 1995, the CSP administered $6 million in grants; in fiscal year (FY) 2002, the CSP administered $200 million. This year also marked the start of the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program, earmarked at $25 million, to address the difficulties in acquiring facilities for new charter schools.
To learn more about how the CSP fulfills ED's commitment to support the charter school movement, visit the Charter Schools Program section.
To learn more about how accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) affect charter schools, read our NCLB Guide for Operators and Developers. ED has also produced non-regulatory guidance, available as a PDF file:
The Impact of the New Title I Requirements on Charter Schools Non-Regulatory Guidance.
Source: www.USCharterSchools.org
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