Nationally, urban charter schools are significantly outperforming their district counterparts in both reading and mathematics, according to a new study from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University, or CREDO.
The report, released last week, also shows that, for the most part, urban charter and district schools are serving equal numbers of English-language learners as well as students in poverty and special education. But CREDO researchers say charter quality still remains a patchwork across the country, with pockets of poorly performing areas.
In total, students in urban charter schools are achieving the equivalent of 40 additional days of learning in mathematics and 28 more days’ learning in reading compared to their district peers, according to the study. It is part of an extensive review of charter school performance in 41 major urban areas, culminating in a national analysis along with 22 different state-specific reports.
The work was funded by the Walton Family Foundation. (The foundation also supports some coverage of parent empowerment issues in Education Week.)
