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What are the biggest challenges Charter schools currently face in the US?
Hello! Thank you for asking Wonder to identify the greatest challenges that K-12 charter schools currently face in the US. The short version is that some of the largest threats and controversies surrounding US charter school systems are civil rights tensions, recruiting and training challenges, underperformance of virtual charter schools, and a lack of transparency in leadership. Conversely, possible ingredients for success in US charter school systems are parent engagement, school partnerships, funding equality, and accountability for authorizers.
METHODOLOGY
After an extensive search across trusted media sites, academic databases, and industry reports, the most useful sources I found to answer your question are PublicCharters.org and USNews.com. Per your request, I honed my search by paying careful attention to the pervasive threats, trends, and controversies surrounding the charter school industry. There is a tremendous wealth of information on the topic that is backed by several years of research. Please read on for a deep dive of my findings. Let's dig in!
OVERVIEW
For the purpose of this brief, we will use Fortune's working definition of the term "charter school": "Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are run outside traditional public systems. They are not bound by many of the rules that govern conventional schools, nor, typically, must they hire unionized teachers. Enrollment is open, with lotteries when there is a surfeit of applicants".
There is no question that charter schools are a growing niche in the US K-12 education sector. In a recent report on estimated current US charter school enrollment, PublicCharters.org states that "the continued annual growth in both charter schools and charter students is positive evidence of a strong and growing movement as more than 300 new charter schools opened across the country." Stamford Advocate states that enrollment among US public charter schools ramped up from 800,000 in 2003 to 2.5 million in 2013, as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics. During that timeframe, the rate of public charter school attendance rocketed up from 1.6 percent to 5.1 percent! Projections from the US Department of Education forecast that the 2016-2017 school year will reach 3.1 million in national enrollment. Furthermore, data from PublicCharters.org shows that there are 17 states boasting approximately 100 charter schools and 9 states with 50-99 charter schools. As of October 2016, over 6,800 charter public schools were scattered over 43 states (and Washington, D.C.), representing 1.5 million charter school graduates over the past 25 years.
METRICS OF SUCCESS
As we delibarate what defines the success or failure of a charter school, it is essential to note the broad range of criteria used to evaluate a school's overall quality (charter or otherwise). An article in The Washington Post discusses some of criteria that the D.C. Public School district and D.C. Public Charter School Board employ when evaluating a school's success. Here are some of those quality markers.
Generally speaking, a school's size is a tremendous indicator of health and academic vitality.
This criterion refers to the percentage of students entering high school with the number of credits necessary to put them on track to graduate in a four-year window.
This is a creative assessment tool for gaining a broad picture of student popular opinion.
Undoubtedly, suspension rates are a key marker of student retention and engagement. Expulsion rates and frequency of absenteeism may also be a consideration in quality assessment.
This may also include elective course participation or involvement in other higher-tiered class offerings that extend the student's education beyond the basic fields of study.
THREATS AND CONTROVERSY
To fully explore the challenges that confront the US charter school system, let's take a look at some of the pervasive threats and weaknesses. What causes these schools to fail? What factors inhibit growth?
In October 2016, NCAAP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) moved to place a ban on all new charter schools in the US. According to Education Week, the racially-charged controversy stemmed from "discipline and segregation within charter schools". As the country's longest-standing civil rights organization, this call for a moratorium created huge waves in the industry. Education Opportunity Network maintains that one of the largest stumbling blocks to charter school credibility is "the clear loss of its support among many organizations representing African Americans". In the wake of alleged discriminatory suspensions and racial profiling, charter schools have some rebuilding to do in the civil rights arena.
With the unprecedented rise in enrollment, there is an immediate shortage of teachers and faculty. A study from US News claims that "the most significant obstacle to growth for many operators is human capital recruitment and training". In an attempt to on-board and train teaching staff, Uncommon Schools and several other networks created a summer training program for new instructors. Carpe Diem Learning Systems held hiring events that targeted recent college grads in the education field. Great Hearts Academies launched a program catered to school leader development called Headmaster College. Another possible solution would be a campaign to state legislatures to allow charter networks to certify their own faculty, giving operators "greater flexibility to recruit teachers who fit their mission and instructional approach".
Another stumbling block for charter schools is the poor performance of it's virtual school students. In a quote from The Independent Media Institute, we learn about the lag in performance by some of these online schools: "The nation’s largest cyber-school chain, K12 Inc., for example, was found by researchers hired by the Walton Family Foundation to be leaving students six months to a year behind traditional public schools in core subject areas. [...] But relying on computers and software to replace experienced classroom teachers is a common feature of many charter schools [...] technology will eventually supersede traditional models of engagement."
Limited operational transparency is another pitfall of charter schools. Based on a study by The Independent Media Institute, in their effort to be exempt from the oversight and accountability that public schools are subject to, charter schools risk implementing "untested curricula", "generally anti-union corporate management models", and unsupervised "internal deliberations, hiring decisions, or contracts". Without oversight from federal and state policymakers, charter schools may implement policies based on financial gain instead of academic excellence.
INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS
To fully explore the opportunities that are available to the US charter school system, let's take a look at some requirements for success. What are opportunities of growth? How can schools rebuild?
It is common knowledge that parental involvement in a child's education is a positive force for the good. An insightful article in The San Diego Union Tribune claims that students whose parents are involved in their education "have higher grades and test scores, attend school more regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school". By virtue of the fact that charter schools are free from zoning and district regulations, parents are key decision-makers in school selection. The article describes the capacity for parental oversight in a child's academic journey: "If a charter school does not meet its performance goals, it may be closed; and parents always have the right to remove their child from a charter school that is not meeting the child’s needs".
According to Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), Charter schools may benefit from adopting a "sister city". The model serves as a buddy system or mentorship program in which a charter sector stimulates growth by matching low-performing schools with high-performing schools. An article on Fortune.com describes CREDO's pairing approach at the student level: "CREDO’s methodology was to pair each urban charter student with up to seven students at nearby traditional schools of a similar achievement level and demographic. Thus, a black male third-grader with strong reading and weak math scores enrolled in a charter school in Detroit was paired with a group of similar students at traditional public schools in Detroit. A girl in special education in Memphis would be similarly paired with a peer group in that city".
Generally speaking, education isn't cheap. An article in US News proposed a need for "equitable funding between charter and noncharter schools [as a] key tenet in a larger discussion around ensuring that all students (regardless of zip code) get their fair portion of funding". Furthermore, such a policy would give disadvantaged students a fairer shot at accessing the kind of education available to children in higher income brackets.
As detailed above, accountability is the charter school system's weak spot. The need for independence has created yawning gaps in the quality of education and the integrity of leadership. In October 2016, US News published at article stating that the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools proposed a model charter law that "builds on lessons learned since the original model law was released in 2009 – incorporating seven years of insights that will help ensure state charter school movements are operating at peak effectiveness". The law gleans from policy best practices and speaks to past errors that resulted in "underperforming charter schools, irresponsible operators and ineffective authorizers". Ultimately, the goal of the model charter law is to help grow healthy charter schools and implement channels for accountability.
FURTHER READING
During my research, I stumbled upon some possible further reading on the topic of parent involvement in the context of charter school education. It is a 2015 academic dissertation published on ProQuest and is titled "A Qualitative Case Study on Parental Involvement in a Midwestern Urban Charter School District: Perspectives of Parents, Teachers, and Administrators". I hope this is an enjoyable read!
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, some of the largest threats and controversies surrounding charter school systems are civil rights tensions, recruiting and training challenges, underperformance of virtual charter schools, and a lack of transparency in leadership. Conversely, possible ingredients for success in US charter school systems are parent engagement, school partnerships, funding equality, and accountability for authorizers.
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