School Choice

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School Choice

Here you will find reports, research and articles covering various views on school choice issues, i.e. charters, magnets, vouchers.  Posting here does not indicate Georgia Partnership endorsement. Entries go back to 2016.  Broken links should be reported here.

Additional School Choice Resources
EdChoiceGeorgia Charter Schools AssociationMagnet Schools of AmericaNational Alliance for Public Charter SchoolsNational Charter School Resource CenterState Charter Schools Commission of Georgia

2018

Pathway to Success:  Sciotoville Elementary Academy Focuses on Meeting the Needs of Its Rural Community
Thomas B. Fordham Institute

This profile illustrates how charter schooling can enable a community to come together to save their school. (May 10)

Charter School Deserts: High-Poverty Neighborhoods With Limited Educational Opportunities
Thomas B. Fordham Institute

This report analyzes the distribution of charter elementary schools across the country to provide parents, policymakers, and educators with information about which high- and medium-poverty communities do not have access to charter schools today. Introduction. (April 26)

2017

The Science of Summit – School Models That Drive Student Success
Summit Learning

This “groundbreaking” report was 15 years in the making.  This is the Summit School’s effort to share what “we believe about young people, about the promise of public education, and about the principles for school design rooted in the science of learning.  Introduction. Related story.(August 8)

More Findings About School Vouchers and Test Scores and They Are Still Negative
Brookings

Vouchers to pay for students to attend private schools continue to command public attention.  The current administration has proposed vouchers in its budget and more than half of the states have programs.  But what does data tells us? (July 13)

The Voucher Fight Isn’t Clear-Cut (Opinion)
U.S. News & World Report

Now I represent a view that is more common than you might think: a public school supporter who feels strongly we should reject vouchers out-of-hand. (June 17)

“It’s Not My Problem!” Why Charter Schools and Districts Need to Work Together on the Politics of School Closure
CRPE

District budgets are often strained when many of their schools are under-enrolled.  This is one of the biggest reasons districts with growing charter enrollment hit financial hurdles. (June 17)

50 State Comparison: Vouchers
Education Commission of the States

School voucher programs are a type of school choice. These state-funded programs – often called scholarship programs – allow students to use public monies to attend a private school.  (March 16)

School Choice Presents Challenges in Rural Georgia
Georgia Public Broadcasting

This year could be a big one for school choice. State lawmakers are considering expanding a program that gives tax credits to Georgians who help bankroll private school scholarships. (February 27)

School Choice Glossary
Education Commission of the States

This glossary provides a brief overview of the multiple school choice options available to state policymakers. Introduction. (February 7)

Bridging the District-Charter Divide to Help More Students
CRPE

Animosity between school districts and charter schools has been the norm since the nation’s first charter school opened in 1992, but that is now starting to change. Introduction. (February 3)

2016

Segregation, Race, and Charter Schools: What Do We Know?
Brookings – Center on Children and Families

This report find that poverty—not race—is the real challenge for segregated schools, and that improving school quality is key to closing racial achievement gaps. Introduction. Related story. (October 25)

New study finds charter schools have little effect on earnings
National Bureau of Economic Research

One argument for charter schools is that they provide a foundation for greater success in life, but this study of young adults indicates that those who attended a charter school in Texas are not earning significantly more and in some cases are earning less.  There is a charge for the full paper. (August 17)

The Performance of State Charter Schools in Georgia, 2014-2015
Georgia State University

This report documents the performance of 15 state charter schools in the 2014-15 school year and also provides performance data for 2013-14 and 2012-13 for 13 the state charter schools, other than Georgia Cyber and Odyssey, which operated in 2014-15. Related story. Related story.(July 1)

A Call To Action – To Improve the Quality of Full-Time Virtual Public Schools
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

This report proposes specific policy recommendations to help states better hold full-time virtual charter schools accountable for student results. Introduction. Related story. (June 21)

On Negative Effects of Vouchers
Brookings

Recent research on statewide voucher programs in Louisiana and Indiana has found that public school students that received vouchers to attend private schools subsequently scored lower on reading and math tests compared to similar students that remained in public schools. (May 31)

Has School Choice Been All It Set Out to Be?
Governing

As the movement slows, policymakers have the opportunity to explore whether school choice has improved education overall. (May 5)

50-State Comparison: Charter School Policies
Education Commission of the States

Charter school laws vary from state to state, and often differ on several important factors, such as who is allowed to authorize charter schools, how authorizers and charter schools are held accountable for student outcomes and whether the teachers in a charter school have to be certified. (February 2016)