Traditional Public Schools Research Articles

Desigualdad de oportunidades en el sistema de educación pública en Bogotá, Colombia

Education is a means to equalize opportunities among individuals and to improve their welfare and future income. Nevertheless, there is limited literature assessing the degree of educational inequality in Colombia, and more so regarding public education. In this sense, this paper presents a comparative analysis of inequality of opportunity in academic achievement of two models of public education in Bogota: traditional and concession. To do this, propensity score matching estimations are used on a dataset collected from a sample of students who took the Saber 11 test in 2012. The results indicate that concession schools exhibit a lower degree of inequality of opportunities compared with traditional public schools.

University Involvement with Charter Schools: Unique Opportunities for Service and Support

<p>Charter schools are a controversial, but vibrant, component of the current educational landscape, now serving over 3.1 million students in approximately 6900 schools across the United States. A unique aspect of this movement has been the establishment of alternative authorizers, and specifically universities, to approve and provide oversight to these public schools. Campus leaders and policy makers must consider numerous variables regarding a university’s involvement with charter schools. What are the implications of school choice on university policies and practices? Should universities be “authorizers”, granting charters to schools in direct competition with the traditional public school system? Can universities provide the required “oversight” mandated by the charter school laws, as well as providing “support” for the schools? What opportunities for partnerships and practicum experiences exist? The article provides an overview of issues that arise with public charter schools authorized by universities. With 18 years of experiences as a public university on the forefront of enabling charter legislation and the “sponsorship” of inner-city public charter schools, the authors provide a historical perspective of the role of universities within the school choice movement, including oversight roles and supportive programs within the unique and growing phenomenon of school choice. </p>

Introduction to the Special Issue: Restructuring and Resisting Education Reforms in Chicago’s Public Schools

In this paper, guest editors Gutierrez and Waitoller introduce the special issue, Restructuring and Resisting Education Reforms in Chicago’s Public Schools. As a pioneer of neoliberal education reforms, the city of Chicago and its public school system offers a rich context for critical policy scholarship on the dialectic between education restructuring and community resistance against these reforms. First, the authors contextualize Chicago education reforms within the larger neoliberal project by providing an overview of the policies driving the closures of traditional public schools and expansion of charter schools that the contributors to this special issue examine. The authors also address the co-constitutive nature of race and neoliberalism in education policy, and the disproportionate impact these policies have on low-income communities of color. Next, the authors discuss the significance of this collection of papers for educational policy analysis and call for more research that situates examinations of urban educational reforms in their specific socio-historical, political, and economic contexts. The paper concludes with a summary of the articles included in the special issue.

Teacher Working Conditions, Teacher Commitment, and Charter Schools

Background The charter school movement relies on teachers as critical components. Teacher commitment is an important aspect of teachers’ lives, because it is an internal force for teachers to grow as professionals. It is also considered one of the crucial factors in influencing various educational outcomes, including teacher effectiveness, teacher retention, and student learning. However, no empirical studies have examined teacher commitment in charter schools. Purpose To address this knowledge gap, this study compares organizational and professional commitment of teachers in charter schools and traditional public schools (TPSs) and explores how these differences are associated with teachers’ characteristics, school contextual factors, and working conditions in the two types of schools. Research Design This study utilizes quantitative analyses of national data from the 2007– 2008 School and Staffing Survey. Hierarchical linear models were developed to examine whether teacher commitment differs between charter schools and TPSs; how teacher characteristics, school contextual factors, and teachers’ perceptions of working conditions contribute to the difference; and finally, whether these variables differentially influence teacher commitment in charter schools and TPSs. Conclusions On average, teachers in charter schools experienced lower levels of organizational commitment than teachers in TPSs, but similar levels of professional commitment. Teacher working conditions explained a large amount of the variance in between-school teacher commitment, suggesting that improving principal leadership, increasing opportunities for professional development, and alleviating teachers’ workload would be effective ways to promote teacher commitment in charter schools.

College Readiness: Are California Charter School Students Better Prepared?

Using US data from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) I analyse student outcomes from Advanced Placement tests and Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments to determine whether charter school students display higher levels of college readiness. Using panel data from 2011–12 through 2014–15 for the Advanced Placement tests, I find a gain of between 10.8 and 21.0 percentage points for charter students on average over students attending traditional public schools. For the Smarter Balanced Assessment using school years 2014–15 and 2015–16, I again find that charter students outperform traditional public students on average with gains in all categories for both the English and the mathematics portions of the exam. The results of this study seem to offer some support for the view that offering choice in schooling tends to improve performance.

Are Charter Schools Safer in Deindustrialized Cities With High Rates of Crime? Testing Hypotheses in Detroit

Families in deindustrialized cities with high crime rates report prioritizing school safety when opting for charter schools. Yet, very little research has investigated whether charter schools are safer than traditional public schools. This study compares charter and traditional public schools in Detroit, Michigan, on perceived school safety by linking student surveys to data on school, neighborhood, and parent-related characteristics. Charter schools exhibited higher perceived school safety than traditional public schools. However, controls for student commute distance and parental involvement largely diminished this difference. Neighborhood charter schools were an exception, maintaining higher perceived school safety net of controls. Overall results suggest that differences in perceived school safety between schools become less prominent after the attributes of school choosers are considered.

School board member definitions of accountability

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the differing ways in which nonprofit charter and traditional public school board members define the concept of accountability in the school or schools they oversee. The findings speak to the governing consequences of shifting oversight of public education from democratically elected bodies to unelected nonprofit governing boards.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use originally collected survey data from democratically elected school board members and nonprofit charter school board members in Minnesota to test for differences in how these two populations view accountability. Open-ended survey questions are coded according to a previously used accountability typology.FindingsThe authors find that charter school board members are more likely than traditional public school board members to define accountability through high stakes testing as opposed to staff professionalization and bureaucratic systems.Originality/valueThe results speak to the link between board governance structure and accountability in the public education sector, providing new understanding on the way in which non-elected charter school board members view their accountability function.

Market Signals: Evidence on the Determinants and Consequences of School Choice From a Citywide Lottery

We estimate school-choice preferences revealed by the rank-ordered lists submitted by more than 22,000 applicants to a citywide lottery for more than 200 traditional and charter public schools in Washington, D.C. The results confirm previously reported findings that commuting distance, school demographics, and academic indicators play important roles in school choice and that there is considerable heterogeneity of preferences. Higher and lower income choosers respond to academic quality measures, but respond to different indicators of quality. Simulations suggest segregation by race and income would be reduced and enrollment in high-performing schools increased if policymakers were to relax school capacity constraints in individual campuses. The simulations also suggest that removing the lowest performing schools as choice options could further reduce segregation and increase enrollment in high-performing schools.

Paying for priority in school choice: Capitalization effects of charter school admission zones

We exploit a unique characteristic of some charter schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area to identify property value capitalization of access to charter schools. The charter schools in this study designate small geographic areas within their attendance areas as priority zones. Each of the study charter schools has at least two priority zones: households located in priority one zones have a higher probability of admission than households located in priority two zones. We use this spatial variation in the likelihood of attending a charter school to identify the capitalization effect of increased charter school admission probabilities as the difference-in-differences within priority zone one and two border areas. Our results indicate that prices increased by six to eight percent for priority one zone homes compared to priority two zone homes after the opening of a new charter school. We also find that capitalization is stronger for homes with underperforming traditional public schools.

A Comparison of the Academic Achievement of Home School and Public School Students

<p>This study added to existing data on home school effectiveness by comparing the academic achievement of 66 home school students with 66 of their grade-level peers in traditional public schools. The two groups of students were matched on gender, race, and grade level and were administered the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery III. No significant difference in overall academic achievement was found between the groups. Both home school and public school students had average or above average scores in reading, math, written language, and broad knowledge (science, social studies, and humanities). The results further revealed a downward trend in math, reading and broad knowledge scores with increasing grade level. This trend suggests that home school and public school students experience a “developmental mismatch” between the changes that occur in adolescence and their school/home experiences, resulting in lower motivation, confidence, and academic performance.</p>

Bang for the Buck: Autonomy and Charter School Efficiency in Milwaukee

ABSTRACTCharter schools are a relatively new phenomenon in American education. Since the first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1991, they have expanded to 42 states and represent 6.2% of all public schools in the country.1 This growth has been attributed to a number of factors, chief among them evidence that charter schools can improve performance (Lamdin and Mintrom, 1997). While there is a substantial evidence for relative performance benefits of charter schooling (e.g. CREDO, 2015) far less research been conducted on the efficiency of charter schools relative to traditional public schools. What research there is has produced both positive (e.g. Wolf et. al., 2014) and negative results (e.g. Carpenter and Noller, 2010). What can account for the disparity in these findings? In this paper, I make the case that differences in charter efficiency may be accounted for by differences in their level of autonomy from the school district. I base this argument on economic theories that the devolution of power to the lowest level possible tends to produce gains in efficiency (Johnson, 1991; Duncombe and Yinger, 1997). Those that are “on the ground” are thought to be more effective at monitoring expenditures, and allocations of resources have to pass through less ‘red tape (Hess 2006).’ In addition, more autonomous charter schools better fit the original purpose of charter schools in devolving power from centralized authorities (Budde, 1996). In order to test this theory, I take advantage of a unique situation that exists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in which three types of charter schools with varying levels of autonomy operate simultaneously. Using school type as a proxy for autonomy, I find that more independent charter schools are more efficient than traditional public schools and charter schools with less autonomy.

Charter Schools and Mathematics Achievement in the State of Georgia

This study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and factorial analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to investigate the relationship between a school’s charter status and Math achievement. After accounting for school gender and ethnicity effects, charter school status is associated with Math achievement. Specifically, the initial status of Math achievement varies depending on ethnicity and gender, but the growth rate does not. Furthermore, district characteristics help to explain the charter school effect on Math achievement. Charter schools outperform traditional public schools when they receive an average amount of instructional funds. To this end, the charter gap in Math achievement decreases over time in districts that spend on instruction and have a substantial amount of minorities. When compared to traditional public schools with similar characteristics, charter schools with high percentages of Black students and/or low percentages of females outperformed their matched traditional public school counterparts.

Digital Technology: A Double-Edged Sword for a School Principal in Rural Pennsylvania

This case study was inspired by visits to several different rural high schools in Pennsylvania. The case illuminates the challenges faced by rural principals and superintendents who want to integrate digital technology into their curriculum, but who lack certain financial and human capital resources. Although this case occurred in a remote, rural area, school leaders in various settings deal with similar dilemmas. The following case is designed for principal preparation courses such as instructional leadership, organizational leadership, and school budgeting. In addition, this case could be utilized in educational policy courses examining school choice policies and how traditional public school districts respond to competition from online charter schools.

Race, Class, and Religion: Creaming and Cropping in Religious, Ethnic, and Cultural Charter Schools

This Article is devoted to one of the most fascinating contemporary developments in American public education—the phenomenal rise of religious, ethnic, and cultural charter schools. Religious, ethnic, and cultural charter schools are established by a religious or ethnic community with the aim of providing an education saturated with the respective values and culture of that community. Despite their growing prevalence and the significant legal challenges they pose, they have, thus far, not been given sufficient attention by legal scholars. What little discussion there is focuses solely on religious charter schools’ incompatibility with the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. While the Establishment Clause challenge constitutes one central challenge to religious charter schools, another crucial aspect of their operation should be highlighted: their negative impact on the educational opportunities of children from racial minorities and lower socioeconomic classes. The Article argues that because of their unique characteristics, religious, ethnic, and cultural charter schools are especially likely to have negative effects on educational equality, and makes the case for legislative intervention in order to prevent this outcome. First, the Article exposes and explores the central detrimental effects of religious, ethnic, and cultural charter schools: racial and socioeconomic segregation, and the twin-processes of “creaming” and “cropping.” Then, based on a comprehensive critical survey of all charter legislation in the United States aimed at preventing segregation in the different states, the Article argues that charters’ antidiscrimination rules have the surprising effect of worsening inequality instead of alleviating it, and that the legislative measures aimed at ensuring integration cannot fully promote equality. Therefore, the Article supports a different strategy, adopted recently in Delaware, according to which religious and ethnic charter schools should be authorized only if they do not compromise the education of students in traditional public schools.

Charter schools don’t serve black children well

The NAACP, nation’s largest civil rights organization, steps up its opposition to charter schools just as a president and new education secretary appear ready to kick the sector into high gear. In 2016, the NAACP passed a resolution calling on a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools, citing concerns about transparency and accountability, diversion of money away from traditional public schools to charter schools, discipline and segregation of racial minorities. Julian Vasquez Heilig, who is a member of the California NAACP and a professor of educational leadership and policy studies at California State University Sacramento, responds to questions about that resolution and the role that charter schools play in the United States.

Heterogeneous Effects of Charter Schools: Unpacking Family Selection and Achievement Growth in Los Angeles

ABSTRACTDisparate findings on whether students attending charter schools outperform peers in traditional public schools (TPS) may stem from mixing differing types of charters or inadequately accounting for pupil background. To gauge prior family selection and heterogeneous effects, we distinguish between conversion and start-up charter schools, along with a third site-run model operating in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). We find that TPS campuses converting to charter status (conversions) attracted more experienced and consistently credentialed teachers, and served relatively advantaged families, compared with newly created charter schools (start-ups), after tracking 66,000 students over 4 years, 2007–2011. Charters overall attracted pupils achieving at higher levels as they began a grade cycle (at baseline), relative to TPS peers, most pronounced among conversions that remained affiliated with the district. After matching students on their propensities to enter a charter school, we find that pupils attending charters outperformed TPS peers over the 4-year period. These benefits are most consistent and moderate in magnitude for middle school students. We observed significant though small effects in English language arts for pupils attending charter high schools. Latino students, mostly attending start-ups, enjoyed consistent benefits from attending a charter school.

“No Excuses” charter schools for increasing math and literacy achievement in primary and secondary education: a systematic review

“No Excuses” charter schools for increasing math and literacy achievement in primary and secondary education: a systematic review

Student Enrollment Patterns and Achievement in Ohio’s Online Charter Schools

We utilize state data of nearly 1.7 million students in Ohio to study a specific sector of online education: K–12 schools that deliver most, if not all, education online, lack a brick-and-mortar presence, and enroll students full-time. First, we explore e-school enrollment patterns and how these patterns vary by student subgroups and geography. Second, we evaluate the impact of e-schools on students’ learning, comparing student outcomes in e-schools to outcomes in two other schooling types, traditional charter schools and traditional public schools. Our results show that students and families appear to self-segregate in stark ways where low-income, lower achieving White students are more likely to choose e-schools while low-income, lower achieving minority students are more likely to opt into the traditional charter school sector. Our results also show that students in e-schools are performing worse on standardized assessments than their peers in traditional charter and traditional public schools. We close with policy recommendations and areas for future research.

Research Design Meets Market Design: Using Centralized Assignment for Impact Evaluation

A growing number of school districts use centralized assignment mechanisms to allocate school seats in a manner that reflects student preferences and school priorities. Many of these assignment schemes use lotteries to ration seats when schools are oversubscribed. The resulting random assignment opens the door to credible quasi-experimental research designs for the evaluation of school effectiveness. Yet the question of how best to separate the lottery-generated randomization integral to such designs from non-random preferences and priorities remains open. This paper develops easily-implemented empirical strategies that fully exploit the random assignment embedded in a wide class of mechanisms, while also revealing why seats are randomized at one school but not another. We use these methods to evaluate charter schools in Denver, one of a growing number of districts that combine charter and traditional public schools in a unified assignment system. The resulting estimates show large achievement gains from charter school attendance. Our approach generates efficiency gains over ad hoc methods, such as those that focus on schools ranked first, while also identifying a more representative average causal effect. We also show how to use centralized assignment mechanisms to identify causal effects in models with multiple school sectors.

The Failure of Education Federalism

Since the Great Recession of 2007–09, states have devoted even less money to public education and state courts have become even more hostile to structural reform litigation that has sought to challenge education funding and quality. Yet the current model of education federalism (dual federalism) leaves these matters largely to the states. As a result, state-level legislative inaction, executive acquiescence, and judicial abdication can combine to create a situation in which the quality of traditional public schools declines sharply. This is the case in Michigan, which is an unusually important state not only because the dynamics that are emerging in some other states are mature in Michigan but also because Michigan is the home state of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has influenced the state’s education policy substantially. Glaring gaps in educational quality like those in Michigan are not the federal government’s problem, and in some ways the federal government’s hands are tied when it comes to being part of the solution. This must change. Dual federalism does not reflect the current reality of many federal-state-local relationships, and it is sorely outdated in the context of public education. Accordingly, I argue for a larger, though by no means exclusive, federal role in K-12 public education with the goal of establishing a floor of educational quality for students across the country. In addition to proposing legislative and agency-based changes, I advance the novel litigation strategy of pairing a minimal educational quality right via Substantive Due Process with rational basis with bite review under the Equal Protection Clause. In these ways and others, we must move to a new model of federalism in education—cooperative federalism. Without this shift, a floor of educational quality will continue to be uneven both among and within states, and in more and more places like Michigan, the floor will rot and students will fall through.