Back in 2008, when Senator Obama was running against Senator McCain, something unusual happened in the final minutes of their third and very contentious, partisan debate. They agreed on something: charter schools were a good thing. They agreed on this one issue because charter schools when done right (as in…
A new report from the NYC Independent Budget Office found that student attrition rates in charter schools are lower across nearly every student subgroup -- with the one exception, which contradicts previous research, being calculated from a tiny sample. The IBO study followed the kindergarten class of 2008-09 at 53…
The NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE) released its 2012-13 Progress Reports for all public and charter schools*. Charter schools continue to earn a higher distribution of A and B grades than district schools; 69% of charter schools scored an A or B grade over 63% for the district. Learn…
James Merriman How can we improve school choice in New York City? The Education Funders Research Initiative asked a range of experts, and Charter Center CEO James Merriman shared his thoughts. They're reproduced below with permission. New York City has a rich history of school choice, and the expansion of…
Michael Regnier The debate about charter school funding was split wide open last week when a new study found that charter schools receive much less public support per pupil, when accounting for the full value of retirement promises to district school teachers. The valuation matters because the City is not…
The New York City Council Education Committee held a hearing October 2, to consider three important resolutions, Res. 1263-2012, Res. 1395-2012 and Res. 1906-2012, regarding school utilization. The resolutions call for a moratorium on school closings and co-locations for a period of at least a year, require CEC approval for…
Michael Regnier A rigorous new study of charter elementary schools has a startling implication: mainstream general education classrooms at NYC charter schools contain many students who, statistically, would have been assigned to special education had they attended district schools. Charter school educators have been saying this for years, and the…
Michael Regnier “It ain't what people don't know that hurts them. It's what they know that ain't so.” Whoever said that didn’t know the charter school debate.* Especially after the release of state test scores, we actually have both problems. Consider the sticky issue of student enrollment patterns. In order…
UPDATE: We posted our in-depth analysis of charter school test scores. View it here. The 2012-13 school year marked a new era for public education in New York State, as teachers and students directed their work according to the Common Core State Standards. The test scores released today provide schools…
Danny Hayman Nerd Alert: I’m the Charter Center’s Policy Data Analyst, and this post will assume some familiarity with New York City’s system of school Progress Reports. The official DOE documentation is here. In an excellent new report commissioned by New Visions for Public Schools, Sean P. Corcoran and Grace…
