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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Download: 
http://www.edexcellence.net/doc/Playing%20to%20Type--Carpenter.pdf
This study, based on a sorting of 1,182 charter schools, presents a typology based on school philosophy, curriculum and/or instructional strategy, mode of delivery, and intended student population. The author finds that nearly 30 percent of charter schools, including many conversion schools, offer a general curriculum that is essentially indistinguishable from conventional district public schools. A nearly equal number of charters schools offer a "progressive" program, placing a premium on individual development. Classroom activities are often student-centered, hands-on, project-based, and cooperative in nature and often students assume accountability for their learning. "Traditional" programs are the third largest type of charter schools, and are more likely to be teacher-centered with focus on high standards in academics and behavior, discipline, and other earmarks of a "back-to-basics" approach.
Date: 2005
Source: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
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