Information about the book and order form

Press release for the book

Abstract: In this book, two definitions of public-ness are applied to charter schools: the traditional or "formalist" definition, which emphasizes public ownership and control, and the newer "functionalist" definition, which requires only that schools serve the public interest, even if they are privately owned and controlled. Using these definitions as lenses, the book examines such topics as access and equity, teachers and staffing, role of private EMOs that operate charter schools, student achievement, customer satisfaction, innovation, and impact on districts–all with an eye towards determining what's public about charter schools. Based on their research, the authors provide a range of concrete policy recommendations, ranging from creating financial incentives for schools to serve at-risk students to improvements in oversight. The authors argue that, as the charter school movement enters its second decade, policymakers across the nation should take stock of their charter school laws, identify the correlates of success in the schools, and reform their laws accordingly to ensure that they serve the public good, even if they are privately owned or managed.

Related to this study see our Occassional Paper #41 at the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education

"Student Academic Achievement in Charter Schools: What We Know and Why We Know So Little"
Gary Miron and Christopher Nelson (December 2001)

Press release for the occasional paper

Abstract: Student achievement is central to the policy debate over charter schools. This paper revies what is currently known about charter schools' impact on student achievement. After documenting the surprising dearth of systematic empirical studies on the topic, the paper combines the findings of existing research into an overall impact rating, weighted by the studies' methodological quality. We find that the existing body of research reveals a mixed picture, with studies from some states suggesting a positive impact, studies from other states suggesting negative impact, and some providing evidence of positive and negative impacts. Overall, the charter impact on student achievement appears to be mixed or very slightly positive. However, this conclusion is tempered by the fact that there are , as yet, no systematic studies of charter school achievement in several states that have large numbers of charter schools. The paper concludes by offering some preliminary explanations for variations in charter performance across the states and for the paucity of empirical evidence in many states.

Links to reports from charter school evaluations conducted by The Evaluation Center

"An Evaluation of the Michigan Charter School Initiative: Performance, Accountability and Impact"
Jerry Horn and Gary Miron (July 2000)

Press release for the Michigan evaluation report

"Autonomy in Exchange for Accountability: An Initial Study of Pennsylvania Charter Schools"
Gary Miron and Christopher Nelson (October 2000)

Press release for the Pennsylvania evaluation report

"An Evaluation of Student Achievement in Edison Schools Opened in 1995 and 1996"
Gary Miron and Brooks Applegate (December 2000)

Press release for the Edison study

The reports from our statewide evaluations of charter schools in Connecticut and Illinois, as well as our study of charter schools in Cleveland will be posted when they are released by the sponsors.