Charter Schools in Eight States Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition

by Zimmer, Ron; Gill, Brian; Booker, Kevin; Lavertu, Stephane; Sass, Tim R.

• ISBN13: 9780833046932
• ISBN10: 0833046934
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-16
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

The first U.S. charter school opened in 1992, and the scale of the charter movement has since grown to 4,000 schools and more than a million students in 40 states plus the District of Columbia. With this growth has also come a contentious debate about the effects of the schools on their own students and on students in nearby traditional public schools (TPSs). In recent years, research has begun to inform this debate, but many of the key outcomes have not been adequately examined, or have been examined in only a few states. Do the conflicting conclusions of different studies reflect real differences in effects driven by variation in charter laws and policies? Or do they reflect differences in research approaches-some of which may be biased? This book examines four primary research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of students transferring to charter schools? (2) What effect do charter schools have on test-score gains for students who transfer between TPSs and charter schools? (3) What is the effect of attending a charter high school on the probability of graduating and of entering college? (4) What effect does the introduction of charter schools have on test scores of students in nearby TPSs? Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. iii
Tables	p. vii
Summary	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xxi
Abbreviations	p. xxiii
Introduction	p. 1
Geographic Locations Included in the Analysis	p. 3
Data Description	p. 3
Students Transferring to Charter Schools	p. 7
Prior Achievement of Students Transferring to Charter Schools	p. 8
Transfers to Charters and Racial and Ethnic Stratification	p. 12
Chapter Summary	p. 19
Student Achievement in Charter Schools	p. 21
Analytical Details	p. 26
Notes on Interpreting Results	p. 29
Sensitivity Tests	p. 32
Student Achievement in Virtual Charter Schools	p. 39
Student Achievement, by Age of Charter School	p. 41
Student Achievement, by Race	p. 46
Examination of the Variance in Performance	p. 48
Chapter Summary	p. 50
Educational Attainment Effects of Charter High Schools	p. 53
Data	p. 55
Results	p. 57
Probit Estimates of the Determinants of Educational Attainment	p. 60
Chapter Summary	p. 75
Competitive Effects of Charter Schools on Student Achievement in Traditional Public Schools	p. 77
Analytical Details	p. 78
Implications for Policy and Research	p. 83
Key Findings	p. 84
Policy Implications	p. 86
Methodological and Research Implications	p. 91
Data	p. 95
Chapter Three Regression Results	p. 105
Supporting Data	p. 117
Chapter Five Regression Results	p. 123
Bibliography	p. 129
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