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.ppionline.org/documents/Alternative_Charter_122106.pdf
Alternative charter school authorizers are increasing across the nation and are seen as a way to add value to the charter movement and the public education system. In this new paper from the Progressive Policy Institute, author Louann Bierlein Palmer assesses the quality of alternative charter school authorizers including independent state-level charter boards, higher education institutions, municipal offices and nonprofit groups. By analyzing authorizing policies and practices in Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin, she determines that the best authorizers share three traits: a) they desire their jobs as authorizers; 2) they are relatively insulated from politics; and, 3) they have the ability to create the adequate infrastructure necessary to achieve high quality outcomes. The author cautions policymakers to create new types of authorizers only when the current system is unsuccessful.
Date: 2006
Source: Progressive Policy Institute
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