Traditional or Charter School?

The National Association for Educational Progress published a report, which I read this week The report compares charter schools with public schools, in terms of mean scores from reading and math testing. The fourth-grade NAEP assessments indicate that, after making adjustments for demographics, charter school average scores in reading and mathematics were lower than scores from traditional public schools. Score differences were smaller in reading than in mathematics.

These findings are very interesting, particularly to parents who may be thinking about sending their children to a charter school. Many charter schools are affiliate with a public school district but are not subject to the same regulations, for example, faculty employment selection criteria, curricula, or courses offerings. They provide a unique approach to education for gifted students or those students who may thrive in a non-traditional learning environment.

Do you teach in a charter school? Does your child attend a charter school? Would you agree that your students may not be testing as well as those in traditional public schools? If so, why? Please email me or post to the Discussion link.