Why do charter schools fail

Charter school closures, the Network for Public Education report highlights, are especially disruptive when they occur midyear, which is frequently the case. Also, the newer the charter school, the riskier it can be, as 36 percent of charter school closures studied by the group occurred within the first two years after opening and 23 percent occurred during their third and fourth years.

Parents who live in Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, and Michigan should be especially wary. At the ten-year mark, charter school failure rates in Wisconsin were at 55 percent; in Arizona, 48 percent; in Florida, 42 percent; and in Michigan, 41 percent. Three of those states—Wisconsin, Arizona, and Florida—are joined by Ohio at the top of charter closures at the five-year mark. Charters collaborated with public schools far less often than teachers unions liked, and liberal legislators — historic allies — began to side with the unions more readily.

Competition bred animosity. The top criticism of charters is that they rob funding from district schools. In , the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation concluded that the district—charter balance had been stable — 3. But district schools argue that this still makes it harder to cover their relatively unchanged operating costs.

For example, if a school loses two students per grade, they lose the per-pupil funding but fixed administrative costs remain the same. But some states, Massachusetts included, have even reimbursed public schools the funds they lost to charters.

Opponents also cite the high turnover rate: Nationwide, charters lose 24 percent of their teachers each year, double the rate of traditional public schools. Longer hours and less pay, for one. The average Success Academy teacher, for example, leaves after four years. But the attrition gap is narrowing, and these numbers are also slightly misleading: When charters franchise, many veteran faculty leave existing schools to ensure the new locations maintain the quality of the original.

Still, high turnover tends to diminish student achievement. And critics highlight that after 25 years and some 6, schools, charters still on average produce results roughly equal those of the public schools to which they set out to be better alternatives. Nationwide, low-income students, especially black and Hispanic, tend to benefit from charters the most, studies show.

The staggering range in charter quality starts with authorizers. Every charter school has a state-sanctioned organization that grants its license, reviews its performance, and renews or terminates its contract. About charters close a year, not just for academic shortcomings, but for flawed governance or leadership, a drop in student demand, or financial miscalculations.

An undiscerning authorizer is the main root of weak charters. Take Ohio, often called the Wild West of chartering. A study from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes CREDO at Stanford University found that the average Ohio charter student, compared with his or her public school peer, acquired 14 fewer days in reading and 43 fewer days of math in a day school year.

The results were nearly identical five years earlier. B ut Finn also blames parents. Demand for things like location, security, and athletic programs allowed failing charters to thrive. See sidebar for more on parents. Librarians leading the way with innovation, support during COVID Shannon McClintock Miller shares how this empowered group of school leaders is making a difference with students and teachers, along with some of the tools they are using. The latest in meal payment software Serving meals in schools has changed dramatically over the last few decades.

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James VanderHoff, Jim VanderHoff, Full references including those not matched with items on IDEAS Most related items These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one. Joshua D. Walters, Joshua M. Winters, Figlio, D. David N. Salvanes, Figlio, David N. Effects of charter schools on behavioral outcomes, arrests, and civic participation ," Economics of Education Review , Elsevier, vol.

Lovenheim, Michael F.