Report offers mixed message on charter schools

There are two new reports out about California charter schools today, one from USC and one from Stanford.

The USC report is the big one -- it's the annual Charter Schools Indicators report from the Center on Educational Governance. By its own account, it offers "mixed messages" about the state of charters in California. (Charter schools are public schools that are run independent of school districts, typically by private, nonprofit organizations.)

The report shows the charter movement growing strongly (there are now 617 charter schools in California, up 13% from a year ago) and improving its financial stability. But the academic picture is murkier. There has been a sharp increase in the number of charter schools with high Academic Performance Index scores, and they outpace traditional public schools by that measure. But there has also been a slight increase in the percentage of very-low-scoring charters -- and those are also outpacing traditional schools. And charters don't have a great record when it comes to teaching English to non-English speakers, a critical need in California.

From Stanford comes a report from CREDO, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes. Researchers there looked at what happens when you offer rewards, such as concert tickets or iPods, to charter students who do well in school. The report, "Paying for A's," found that the rewards work for reading achievement, not for math. Go figure.

Click on "Read more" below for a news release summarizing the USC charter report.

-- Mitchell Landsberg

LOS ANGELES, May 27, 2008 -- As California's charter schools mature, they are facing many of the same challenges as public schools in trying to raise academic scores and teaching English language learners. Nonetheless, their vital signs remain strong, according to the new Charter Schools Indicator-USC 2008 report, released today by the Center on Educational Governance at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education.

"They're financially stable, their performance is strong; the pace of improvement has slowed down a bit but it's still on the upswing," said Center director Priscilla Wohlstetter, the Diane and MacDonald Becket Professor of Educational Policy at USC.

The full CSI-USC 2008 report can be downloaded at http://www.usc.edu/dept/education/cegov/

According to CSI-USC 2008, charters have more assets relative to liabilities. They own more compared to what they owe. In addition, charters have increased their financial reserves without sacrificing investment in the classroom, which continues to be between 50% and 75% of revenues. Charter schools had a steady increase in hiring credentialed and experienced teachers. The pace of progress - academic momentum - has slowed down in charter schools but still exceeds that of non-charter public schools. Charter schools are able to do more with less when it comes to having students excel in English/language arts, but seem to be losing ground on math standardized tests when compared to non-charter public schools that spend about the same per student.

As seen in last year's report, a key problem area for charters continues to be transitioning English Language Learners (ELL) to proficiency. About 45% of charter schools still rank poorly (1 or 2 on a scale of 1 to 10).

"Though some charter schools specialize in teaching English language learners, the finding is that charters on average don't transition ELL to Fully English Proficient students at very high rates compared to other schools," said Richard S. Brown, assistant professor at the USC Rossier School of Education.

Using both financial and academic data submitted by school districts to the state of California, CSI-USC looks well beyond test scores to evaluate charter school performance in four areas: financial resources and investment, school quality, student performance and academic productivity. 

Since the release of CSI-USC 2007, the state's charter school population has increased by 13.2%, from 545 schools to 617. The USC Rossier report fills a unique role, Wohlstetter said: "More charter schools than ever have attained the five-year renewal process; at the same time, the state is accrediting more and more new charter schools. The demand for accurate, relevant and timely data by charters, authorizers and policymakers will only become more intense."

CSI-USC 2008 also demonstrates how California charter schools receive mixed messages from government agencies on their performance. State accountability measures show improvement in overall academic achievement. Between 2003 and 2007 about 4% more charter schools earned a 9 or a 10 rating (the highest), and fewer charter schools earned the lowest. But California charters can't keep up with the moving targets known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals, the federally mandated increases established under No Child Left Behind.

"This apparent contradiction is not unique to California or to charter schools," Wohlstetter said. "Each year, in every state, for all public schools, AYP goals are reset automatically, leaving more schools behind even as state measures such as California's API show that charter and non-charter public schools are making absolute gains."

The Center on Educational Governance is one of six distinguished interdisciplinary research institutes at the USC Rossier (Ross-EAR) School of Education, whose mission is to strengthen urban education locally, nationally and globally.

Comments

[Debbie Hall]

Charter Schools offer what many teachers today crave: autonomy in the classroom to exercise creativity and independence in the creation of dynamic lessons, a team environment where the success of the students is paramount, and lower student/teacher ratios which allow for more individualized student attention. Charter teachers gain autonomy in exchange for the accountability of ensuring students learn.

But in light of the recent state budget cuts to our educational system, teachers wonder: will I have a job next year? Given that charters schools work hard to stabilize their funding through private donation and philanthropy, the assurance of a job next year does not weigh on as many teachers of charter schools. Overall, budget cuts will have nominal influence on our lives, affecting items such as supplies or extracurricular budgets (for which grants are sometimes available).

Teaching at a charter school offers the educator advantages comparable to smaller, private schools supported by the strength of a larger school system. In today’s economy, the knowledge that teachers will be able to continue providing quality education to our students without fear of massive lay offs makes the job even more satisfying!

Debbie Hall
English Teacher
Animo South LA Charter School, Los Angeles
Teach California Charters Partner School

[Credit Repair]

Education plays a key role in man’s life. It is a vital ingredient in the success of a nation. But with economic problem we are facing now, the Obama Administration, as we see it these days, it is not in the top priority list. We need an educational policy that will encourage the students to critical thinking and embrace science and arts and creativity. As Americans emerge from the afterglow of the recent presidential elections and president-elect Obama prepares to take the reins of the country, education is a topic on the minds of many. What will he do to improve the lot of students and teachers in America? According to an article at The Apple, Obama’s first order of business when it comes to education will be to look at No Child Left Behind. He doesn’t want to scrap the program, but he does want to reform it, particularly when it comes to standardize testing. He is against preparing students all year to “fill in bubbles.” Referencing schools, both Obama and vice president-elect Biden support charter schools, so long as they perform up to standard. Teachers at charter schools and beyond will find Obama incentives like Teacher Service Scholarships and various pay rewards to be a great help. In addition, boosting Early Head Start programs and providing tax credits (which Obama calls the “American Opportunity” credit) for college education are at the forefront of the president-elect’s plan. Repairing faith in the American educational system via these ideas and more will surely lead to the kind of credit repair the country needs – where the currency is a dynamic workforce that is prepared to lead America into the future.