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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Study challenges charter schools' superiority | News Blog | Rochester City Newspaper

Study challenges charter schools' superiority | News Blog | Rochester City Newspaper:



Study challenges charter schools' superiority

POSTED BY  ON TUE, FEB 18, 2014 AT 11:24 AM



A new study seems to confirm what many traditional public school officials have been saying for years about student performance in charter schools: when all things are equal, traditional public schools and charters perform about the same.

Forward Institute, a Wisconsin public policy organization, compared the Milwaukee school district’s state accountability report cards to those of the Milwaukee district charters and 2R privately managed charters.

A combination of lower truancy and poverty rates, as well as fewer students with disabilities, gave the charters an advantage over the Milwaukee Public Schools. Both charters also hired more experienced and qualified teachers.

The report card scores of the charters appeared higher until they were adjusted to account for truancy, poverty, and teacher experience. Once adjusted, students in the charter schools didn’t perform any better than those in traditional public schools.

Chronic truancy is the most adverse factor impacting student performance in Milwaukee Public Schools,