NEWS & STUDIES

Despite Push, Success at Charter Schools Is Mixed (New York Times, 5/1/10)
Many of those at the meeting last May had worried that the Obama administration would reflect the general hostility of teachers' unions toward charters, publicly financed schools that are independently run and free to experiment in classrooms. Read More

Harlem's Education Experiment Gone Right, Anderson Cooper Reports on Education Pioneer Geoffrey Canada's Huge Success (CBSnews.com, December 6, 2009)
The Harlem charter school experiment has drawn national attention for its innovative approach, but the school budget of $76 million for 1,200 students amounts to an outrageous price tag of more than $63,000 per pupil in spending. Read More

Charter schools hold promise, but they're no magic bullet (Editorial, LA Times Editorial, November 30, 2009)
The Obama administration may be over-relying on them as a means of remedying the nation's educational mediocrity. Read More

Multiple Choice: Charter Schools Performance in 16 States (Stanford University study of charter schools, June 2009)
The Stanford University study found that more than a third of charter schools perform worse than nearby public schools, and about half do about as well as public schools. And only 17% provide students with a "superior educational opportunity." At the same time, charter schools are having a disproportionate negative impact on funding for public schools. Read More

Oasis charter school to close (Katy Murphy, Contra Costa Times, June 24, 2009)
The Oakland charter school was forced to close its doors due to "inconsistent curriculum, teaching methods that weren't based on research, and other academic concerns." Read More

What the Harlem Miracle Really Teaches (Diane Ravitch, Education Week, May 12, 2009)
A second look suggests that the celebrated Harlem charter school called Harlem Promise Academy may not be the miracle it is portrayed as. Read More

The KIPP Fresno Horror Story That the National Media Won't Tell (Schools Matter, March 15, 2009)
A look at the Fresno charter schools horror story "offers a case study in how an organizational culture that encourages any means to achieve its ends of behavioral transformation and high test scores –combined with a lack of Board authority– has created a monstrous form of penal schooling." Read More

Legislators plan to overhaul charter school system (Norman Draper, StarTribune.com, January 22, 2009)
Minnesota's charter schools, serving 30,000 students, "have been battered by problems with poor student performance, fiscal woes, conflicts of interest and charges of inappropriate mixing of public education and private religion." Read More