Piecing Together the Charter Puzzle

Simply removing barriers will not ensure quality—and may create problems.

By Greg Richmond

At age 15, charter schools are in their adolescence—kind of awkward and wondering who they will become, standing at a crossroads but not quite sure where either road leads. Like an uncomfortable teenage basketball player, the size is impressive: 4,000 schools in 15 years, with 40 states and the District of Columbia passing charter laws, and with huge demand for the schools, particularly from urban families.

The question, however, is whether this maturing movement has an ability to learn, adapt, and make its mark. Some of the success that networks of charters have shown in motivating minority and low-income learners is astounding and reflects entrepreneurial education at its finest. But there has been enough failure and excess in some charter settings that a degree of humility is called for as well. Are we maturing enough to face ourselves and admit our mistakes? Is it time to tone down the in-your-face challenges to the status quo? Might we study the results and civilly and honestly explain what we have learned? If we do, might districts begin to use chartering strategically to move entire public school systems forward?

When charter schools were first established during the 1990s, advocates believed that the key to success was the removal of barriers. State regulations, union contracts, and district bureaucracies were identified as the barriers to school quality. Charter schools, it was thought, would excel within a free market of competition if only...