Academic Gains Vary Widely for Charter Networks

A new national study on the effectiveness of networks that operate charter schools finds overall that their middle school students’ test scores in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies aren’t significantly better than those of students in regular public schools.

The average results varied widely: Students in some charter networks managed three years of growth in two years; in others, students tested a year behind grade level after a year or two in the program.

The findings from the research group Mathematica and the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington Bothell underscore the point that being run by a charter-management organization, or CMO, isn’t a predictor of an individual school’s or student’s success, and that CMOs cannot be lumped together as being effective or ineffective. Previous studies have shown the...