CHARTER ARE BETTER

Harvard Study Lauds Charter Schools
by Stuart Shepard, correspondent

SUMMARY: A recent teachers' union report said charter schools aren't cutting it. But a huge new study from
Harvard says they're beating the socks off regular schools.

An unusually large study of 46,000 students in the nation's charter schools reveals that they have significantly higher scores in math and reading -- a powerful argument for giving parents more choices in their children's education.

In fact, a new study out of Harvard that compared 99 percent of the nation's charter school students to similar students in nearby public schools found they did significantly better in math and reading.

"We're kind of like educational laboratories in a way, because we have the autonomy to try different ways of educating," said Mark Hyatt, head of a charter school in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Justin Torres, a spokesman for the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, said the very act of allowing parents to choose a school changes the dynamics.

"When parents can make choices about their children's education and . . . choose to put them in an institution where there is a curricular focus and a good learning environment and a feeling of safety, kids are going to learn," Torres said. "It motivates parents to be involved, it motivates students to learn, there's a kind of self-identification with the school that often doesn't take place in a traditional district setting where you're told where to go."

He added that the nation needs to learn from the successful example of charter schools.

The Harvard study is at odds with one done recently by the American Federation of Teachers. The union study included about 3 percent of students, which amounts to a handful in each state. It reflected poorly on charter schools.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: To read the study conducted by Harvard economist Caroline Hoxby, please see the Harvard Web site.

http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/hoxby/papers/hoxbyallcharters.pdf

In addition, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Web site contains more information about charter schools.

http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/global/index.cfm