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CHARTER SCHOOLS.
Term Paper ID:29776
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Essay Subject:
Characteristics of this type of public school.... More...
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9 Pages / 2025 Words
10 sources, 17 Citations,
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Paper Abstract:
Characteristics of this type of public school. Hybrid of public and private; independent and self-governing. View of Charter Schools as the answer to public school problems. Contention that Charter Schools damage public education. Examines literature on the topic regarding disadvantages and advantages of Charter Schools.
Paper Introduction:
Introduction
Nelson, Berman, Ericson, Kamprath, Perry, Silverman and Solomon (2000) define a charter school as a public school of choice established through a contract that specifies the operating procedures of the school and the length of time that the school will receive public support. The authors note that in most cases, a state or a local school board issues the individual school's contract or charter. Some states have created school boards that are specifically responsible for monitoring charter schools.
Finn, Manno, and Vanourek (2000) note that the charter school is a sort of hybrid of public and private schools in that like public schools, charter schools are usually open to all students (although some have a f
Text of the Paper:
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Collins does note that while there is no typicalcharter school, most have fewer than 2 students and are newly createdrather than converted schools. ERIC Digest. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. (2 ). Some states have created schoolboards that are specifically responsible for monitoring charter schools. (1998). However, Collins (1999) notes that existing national research oncharter schools shows a great deal of variation across states in terms ofthe number, type, operation of charter schools as well as in factors suchas who grants the charters; who may start the schools; who sets personnelpolicies; and the ultimate impact on public schooling. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 425 896).Finn, C. ED 459 432).Schnaiberg, L. Charter schools have also been cited as endangering public schoolswith special interest curricula; and creating isolation based on race orethnicity. Charter schools: An approach for rural education? Further, Schnaiberg (2 ) found that minority parents feel thatcharter schools are more culturally sensitive than regular public schools. ReferencesCenter for Education Reform. Charter schools: Choice, diversity may be at odds. Itwas also found that charter schools serve fewer numbers of special-education and limited-English-proficient (LEP) students than public schoolsstatewide. E., Manno, B. This, as well as other factors, has led to theproliferation of charter schools in various states. National charter school directory 2 2- 2 3. (2 ). J., II, & Bainbridge, W. And the fact remains that thereis no definitive findings that charter schools actually deliver high-quality programs or serve low achievers well. Findings The Research In order to effectively evaluate the pertinent research, it wasnecessary to arrive at a general view of the quality and quantity of theexisting research. And even when they dorespond to current needs in a helpful fashion, many charter schools arelikely to face obstacles that they cannot overcome. (2 ). Collins (1999) goes on to note that charter schools also arevirtually impossible to establish in poor areas because it is costly tocreate surplus capacity for schooling that competition requires. Recommendations Based on Reviewed Research Several conclusions and recommendations can be formulated based onfindings. As to the disadvantages, Collins (1999) states that charter schools,being so small, are not really a strong alternative to the huge increasesoccurring in public school enrollment. Rather, they can be helpful to some students insome communities depending upon their local needs. E., & Nathan, J. Further, they tendto have different grade configurations from other public schools, such askindergarten through grade 12, kindergarten through grade 8, and ungradedschools. The authors point outthat while charter schools increase school choice, they also directresources away from urban and rural public schools that serve students fromlow_ income families. Thus, Collins maintains that while charter schools primary purposeis to produce high performing students, establishing whether they meet thisgoal overall is close to impossible given the many variables. So far, whileresults appear very promising, these schools do appear to also beassociated with some clear disadvantages. L. As to the actual literature search, this was accomplished byconducting an advanced search of the ERIC database using the descriptors"charter school" and "controversy" as it was felt that articles addressingthe controversial issue would be most pertinent to the specifiedevaluation. ED 437 724).Ripley, A. Unintended consequences. For example, Lasley and Bainbridge (2 1) contend thatcharter schools can actually damage public education. Document Available: http://www.manhattan_institute.org/html/cr_1 .htm. Theauthors note that in most cases, a state or a local school board issues theindividual school's contract or charter. Focusing on factors such asthe demographic composition of students and staff in Texas' charterschools, provisions for oversight and accountability, early indices ofstudent performance, ongoing controversies, and analyses of trends,Fusarelli found that compared with their overall enrollment in publicschools, African-American and Hispanic students are over-represented incharter schools, while their Anglo counterparts are under-represented. They do appear to increase performance for somecommunities but they also have their disadvantages. Making a difference: Charter schools, evaluation and student performance. Education Week, 19(33), 38- 42.Nelson, B., Berman, P., Ericson, J., Kamprath, N., Perry, R., Silverman, D., & Solomon, D. (2 ). Advantagesare said to include: small class size with increased attention forstudents; not as vulnerable to the rigidities of the educationalestablishment; strong emphasis on performance and standards; able to usemore creative and innovative instructional approaches without excessivebureaucracy and rules; more accountable to the community; better able toreach dropouts and other at-risk students; and they are appealing tolegislators who can propose them to replace failing schools. What the findings do suggest is that because of their disadvantages,charter schools are most definitely not a panacea answering the educationalsystem's need for reform. Yet another criticism is that charterschools lack stability. (2 ). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. (2 1). Fusarelli (2 ) felt that these facts raised serious questionsof equity and social justice, because children labeled as "special ed" orLEP are considered by many educators to be the children most difficult toeducate. On the average, they tend to a similarracial composition, a slightly lower proportion of students withdisabilities, a lower proportion of limited-English-proficient students,and about the same proportion of low-income students. Introduction Nelson, Berman, Ericson, Kamprath, Perry, Silverman and Solomon(2 ) define a charter school as a public school of choice establishedthrough a contract that specifies the operating procedures of the schooland the length of time that the school will receive public support. Only a few of the studies found in the existing knowledge basedirectly examined student academic performance. For example, Finn, Manno, andVanourek (2 ) as well as Teske, Schneider, Buckley and Clark, (2 )found parents very satisfied with the charter schools their children wereattending. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement. However, thesestudies examined effectiveness in a variety of different ways (e.g., surveyand questionnaire assessments of parent satisfaction and/or studentsatisfaction; comparisons of principals' perceptions of charter schools;comparisons of regulations affecting charter schools across states anddistricts, etc.). In order to make sure that information was current, allarticles searched were limited to those written in the last five years,from the period of 1998 to 2 3. Further, if they do decide to establish theschool, they should use a variety of assessments to ensure that they candetermine whether the school does increase student performance. However, the authors warn against makingachievement comparisons between charter school students and those whoattend other public schools. Further, they are often unable towave rules that operate as barriers. Ripley (2 ) has also noted the controversy surrounding charterschools. Given the foregoing, it is recommended that educators understand thatcharter schools should be thought of as one of many diverse educationalreforms available to them. V., & Vanourek, G. In this regard, Nelson et al (2 ) report thatsince 1992, over 59 charter schools have closed and of these 27 closedduring the 1998-1999 school year alone. Document available: http://edreform.com/Cheung, S., Murphy, M. However, while charter schools have their advocates, they also havetheir opponents. Furthermore, Lasley and Brainbridge state that overhalf of the current charter schools serve only elementary-grade studentswhich suggests that they have not had a significant impact on school choiceat the middle and high school levels. New York: Center for Civic Innovation at the Manhattan Institute. The schools are also said to ignorethe fact that parents' decisions on where to school children are based notonly on academics, but also on proximity of the school, work schedule,after-school care, and extracurricular activities. Charter schools and their impact on reading and writing. According to Cheung, Murphyand Nathan (1998), the paucity of studies directly examining studentperformance are due to the fact that many of these schools have not been inoperation long enough to conduct a truly comprehensive assessment.Furthermore, the authors point out that research on performance oftenutilizes a variety of different assessment instruments in collectingstudent performance data which makes comparison across studies difficult ifnot impossible in some cases. Based on Collins (1999) review of the literature on charter schools,it is noted that they have both advantages and disadvantages. Does charter school competition improve traditional public schools? (2 3). ED 444 254.Lasley, T. Despite the foregoing limitation, it is important to note that thereare a number of other studies that also support the ability of charterschools to increase student performance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Fusarelli, L.D. The state of charter schools 2 : Fourth year report. Nevertheless, she does point out that in 5 out of 53 studies,conducted by government, university, and other independent bodies, charterschools appear in a positive light. Relevant to this report is the fact that charter schools havecaptured the imagination of the American public which often views theseschools as the salvation of public school from its myriad problems(Collins, 1999). With the foregoing kept in mind, it is nonetheless possible to obtainsome notion of charter school effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature on charterschools in order to determine whether or not the research supports charterschools' promise and effectiveness. In fact, it is noted that many studieshave indicated that charter school students perform at or above nationalstandards and attain higher standardized test assessment scores in thesubject areas of reading and writing. Finn, Manno, and Vanourek (2 ) note that the charter school is asort of hybrid of public and private schools in that like public schools,charter schools are usually open to all students (although some have afocus that may appeal only to particular types of families), but likeprivate schools they are independent and self-governing. In this regard, it can be noted that there existhundreds of studies of the effectiveness of charter schools. Guiding the search for relevantliterature were three basic questions: (1) What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with charter schools; (2) Does empirical research on charter school effectiveness support the ongoing proliferation of these schools across America?; and (3) What is the general quality and quantity of the research found in the existing knowledge base? Charter schools in action: Renewing public education. First, the difficulties inherent in thoroughly andcomprehensively evaluating the effectiveness of charter schools and thehuge variation within these schools indicate that they remain experimentalin nature, and it is too soon to judge their effectiveness. Charter schools and the struggle for equity Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (New Orleans, Louisiana, April 24-28). Further, they cratecompetition among schools which many opponents argue means that economicand not educational ideas and ideals predominate. Only articles that directly addressed oneor more of the search questions delineated above were obtained andreviewed. For example, it was pointed out that charterschools that serve low-income families or students who do not speak Englishat home may be viewed as academically unsuccessful when compared with localdistrict schools serving a broader range of students. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Education Week, 19(35), 1, 18_2 .Teske, P., Schneider, M., Buckley, J., & Clark, S. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. (1999). It was noted that there were some concernsregarding issues of equity and social justice. For example, Fusarelli (2 ) examined how charter schools werebeing implemented in Texas. Further, students,parents and teachers are all free to choose to participate in the school,and unlike many public schools, charter schools can and are closed if theyfail to produce desired results. As of September 2 2,the Center for Education Reform estimates that there are nearly 2,695charter schools and 584, 495 charter school students in 36 states plus theDistrict of Columbia with strong indications suggesting that the number ofcharter schools will continue to grow. ED 419 296).Collins, T. Moreover,it is stated that charter schools often increase competition for scarcedollars which results in net financial loss to a school district becausestudents attending the new school do not necessarily reduce the sponsoringorganization's costs. Thus, there may wellbe no way to fully determine their overall effects but rather each must beevaluated separately. Therefore, if educatorsare considering the establishment of a charter school in their localdistrict, they should be fully informed as to the advantages anddisadvantages of this mode of reform in order to properly assess whether itis the answer they need. Minneapolis, MN: Center for School Change. For example, in Cheung et al's(1998) study of 21 charter schools, it was concluded that standardizedacademic achievement tests showed clear evidence of improvement inchildren's performance in charter school over their performance improvementlevels in public school. (2 ).
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