Chartering a New Course: The Debate over Public Charter Schools

In 1992, the nation’s first charter school, St. Paul City Academy, opened in Minneapolis, MS. More than a decade and a half later, there are more than 4,000 charter schools in 41 states and the District of Columbia. This intense period of growth has brought with it both increasing acclaim and increasing scrutiny for the charter school movement from educators, politicians, and concerned citizens throughout the nation.

With the election of President Obama, the future of charter schools is at an important crossroads. On the one hand, charter schools have significant support based on the success stories and the press they have received, but there are also a growing number of detractors claiming that charter schools overall don’t increase student achievement. The outcome of this debate will likely determine the role of charters in the future of education.

Opponents of the charter school movement cite statistics like a study released this week by the Stanford University Center for Research on Education Outcomes that more charter schools actually performed worse than traditional public schools (37%) than those that outperformed them (17%). Such statistics only fuel the criticism of the decreased regulation of hiring, salaries, and operations given to charter schools. National teacher unions are among the most outspoken opponents of allowing charter schools to hire non-union teachers and non-certified teachers and administrators, which they say, decreases the quality of instruction.

In spite of these criticisms, supporters say that the benefits of charter schools, such as school choice, innovation, and flexibility, far outweigh the disadvantages. Furthermore, the independence that stems from the relaxed regulations so often criticized by their opponents is seen in this camp as a fundamental part of their success. With these freedoms they are able to hire bright, motivated and talented teachers and administrators, and operate outside of the confines of the traditional school schedule. Perhaps most importantly, since minorities and economically disadvantaged students are tremendously over-represented in charter schools, supporters say that their effectiveness can only be judged against other schools serving similar populations, not the national school populations. When compared to those types of schools, they do show significant gains in academic achievement.

This week Secretary of Education Arne Duncan essentially issued a stern warning to states: embrace charters or risk losing your share of the over $100 billion in stimulus money set aside for education. With the support of the administration seemingly firmly behind the charter school movement, is the direction as certain as it seems? Tell us what you think in the poll below.

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