Good morning, CharterFolk.
Readers know I stay on the lookout for information helping us keep abreast of the latest trends in charter schools.
The most important trend is that charter schools are now clearly demonstrating better academic performance than district schools.
Both in terms of test scores for low-income kids, and in terms of college-going, college-completion and degree-attainment for low-income and higher-SES students …
… charter schools are nailing it right now.
Earlier this summer I saw this post from Pew …
… that used compelling charts to reveal other important trends.
Yes, it’s true that the majority of district, private and charter schools are in a mix of urban and suburban communities.
But only charter schools have a majority in urban settings.
In terms of school size …
… we see what families with means prefer.
Small schools.
Over 80% of private schools are smaller than 300 students.
Meanwhile, a far larger percentage of charter schools have fewer than 300 students than do district public schools. And while we don’t have data to confirm it, my sense is that the vast majority of charter schools serving less than 300 students are intentionally small, whereas significant numbers of district schools serving fewer than 300 students have become that way because parents have fled them, meaning they are unintentionally small.
Charter schools serve a percentage of students who are Black or Latino …
… that is almost 50% larger than district schools (60% vs 42%), and almost three times larger (60% vs 21%) than private schools.
Charter schools also serve far higher percentages of students who are low-income.
54% of district schools serve student bodies where fewer than half of students are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals.
Only 38% of charter schools do.
Finally, charter schools have a percentage of faculty who are either Black or Latino …
… that is 60% larger than the district school percentage (25% vs 15%), and is about 2.5 times larger (25% vs 10%) than the private school percentage.
In sum, the charts reveal what we could call “the new truth about charter schools.”
- Better academic performance.
- In places where public education dysfunction has been most entrenched.
- Benefitting all students, but especially historically underserved students in poverty.
- Offered within settings featuring the greater level of intimacy that is usually reserved for the elite.
- All while employing much more diverse faculties than either district or private schools.
You tell me, CharterFolk.
What’s not to like?