Opinion
Education Funding Letter to the Editor

Follow the Numbers: Magnet Schools Outperform Charters

January 05, 2016 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Based on the spring results of the California Smarter Balanced assessments, the Los Angeles Unified School District recently announced that 55 percent of the district’s magnet students met or exceeded state standards in English/language arts, compared with 39 percent in charters, 33 percent in the LAUSD overall, and 44 percent in traditional schools statewide. The breakdown of math results followed a similar pattern.

The results represent the online scores of the state’s 3rd through 8th graders, as well as 11th graders, from 48,000 charters and 37,000 magnet schools. The numbers paint a clear picture: Students from LAUSD magnet schools are not only being prepared effectively for college and future careers, they are also outperforming their peers in other schools by significant margins throughout the state, at every grade level.

The scores were released just as the influential Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation floated the idea to provide the LAUSD with a $490 million incentive to double the number of charter schools in the district. The timing was ironic.

Magnet schools explicitly promote school integration and diversity as a core mission. Unlike charters, magnet schools do not operate autonomously, outside the public school system, and are never run by for-profit organizations. This provides a level of direct accountability to decisionmakers and taxpayers. Most magnet schools also adhere to collective bargaining agreements made with educators.

Decisionmakers should question the Broad Foundation’s proposal and take a close look at the test-result evidence that clearly shows that magnet programs are thriving and outperforming charter schools.

In fact, in almost every student classification, including female, male, African-American, Asian, and Latino, magnet school students outshine their peers in math and English/language arts. The same is true for economically disadvantaged students and those with learning disabilities. What is also striking is that the LAUSD’s magnet schools had far fewer students falling into low-performance categories.

All this information should lead to one obvious conclusion: We need to pay closer attention to magnet schools and focus more energy and resources toward replicating these models of educational excellence. The numbers tell a powerful story that should not be ignored.

Todd Mann

Executive Director

Magnet Schools of America

Washington, D.C.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the January 06, 2016 edition of Education Week as Follow the Numbers: Magnet Schools Outperform Charters

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Biden's Budget Proposes Smaller Bump to Education Spending
The president requested increases to Title I and IDEA, and funding to expand preschool access in his 2025 budget proposal.
7 min read
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H. Biden's administration released its 2025 budget proposal, which includes a modest spending increase for the Education Department.
Evan Vucci/AP
Education Funding States Are Pulling Back on K-12 Spending. How Hard Will Schools Get Hit?
Some states are trimming education investments as financial forecasts suggest boom times may be over.
6 min read
Collage illustration of California state house and U.S. currency background.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Education Funding Using AI to Guide School Funding: 4 Takeaways
One state is using AI to help guide school funding decisions. Will others follow?
5 min read
 Illustration of a robot hand drawing a graph line leading to budget and finalcial spending.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A State Uses AI to Determine School Funding. Is This the Future or a Cautionary Tale?
Nevada reworked its funding formula hoping to target extra aid to students most in need. What happened could hold lessons for other states.
13 min read
Illustration of robotic hand putting coins into jar.
iStock / Getty Images Plus