US CHARTER SCHOOLS OVERVIEW

• In the US, nearly 7,038 charter schools enrolled more than 3,167,800 million students in 2017-18. Further, the percentage of sixth-graders among all charter school students was calculated to be 8.32% or 263,560 students.
• According to NCES, the number of charter schools enrolling sixth-graders in the US include 3,934 elementary schools and 1,454 combined schools (elementary/secondary).
• The total enrollment in elementary charter schools stood at 1.5 million students while for combined schools (elementary/secondary) it was 1 million students.
• In 2017, the total number of students enrolled in elementary schools (up to grade 8th) across the US stood at 35.47 million; whereas the total number of students enrolled in sixth-grade stood at 3.88 million or about 10.93% of all elementary enrollments and 7.64% of all public school enrollments in 2017-18.
• According to a recent data set by NCES, the charter school enrollment as a percent of total public schools' enrollment in 2017 stood at 6%; whereas, the total number of charter schools as a percent of public schools was found to be 7.1%.
• It is found that the top-four states account for nearly 46.40% (3,266 schools) of all charter schools in the US. The top-four states include California (1,275 schools), Texas (774 schools) Florida (661 schools), Arizona (556 schools). Additionally, it is noted that in the District of Columbia, the charter schools account for nearly 49.3% of all public schools and 43.7% of all student enrollments in 2017.

CALIFORNIA

• In California, about 6,186,278 students are enrolled in PK-12 public schools, of which nearly 652,933 students (10.55%) are enrolled in PK-12 charter schools.
• In 2019, the total number of sixth-grade students enrolled in charter schools were found to be about 52,503 students (8.04%).
• Number and growth of sixth-grade students over the previous year were found to be 51,782 students with an increase of 1.39%.

TEXAS

• In Texas, about 5,399,682 students are enrolled in PK-12 public schools, of which nearly 296,323 students (5.48%) are enrolled in PK-12 charter schools.
• In 2018, the total number of sixth-grade students enrolled in charter schools stood at 26,496 students (8.94%).
• Number and growth of sixth-grade students over the previous year were found to be 24,663 students with an increase of 7.43%.

FLORIDA

• In Florida, about 2,846,857 students are enrolled in PK-12 public schools, of which nearly 313,586 students (21.03%) are enrolled in PK-12 charter schools.
• In 2019, the total number of sixth-grade students enrolled in charter schools stood at 31,819 students (10.14%).
• Number and growth of sixth-grade students over the previous year were found to be 29,608 students with an increase of 7.47%.

ARIZONA

• In Arizona, about 901,383 students are enrolled in PK-12 public schools, of which nearly 190,116 students (21.03%) are enrolled in PK-12 charter schools.
• In 2019, the total number of sixth-grade students enrolled in charter schools stood at 15,496 students (8.15%).
• Number and growth of sixth-grade students over the previous year were found to be 14,895 students with an increase of 4.03%.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

• In the District of Columbia, about 92,994 students are enrolled in PK-12 public schools, of which nearly 43,911 students (47.24%) are enrolled in PK-12 charter schools.
• In 2019, the total number of sixth-grade students enrolled in charter schools stood at 2,850 students (6.49%).
• Number and growth of sixth-grade students over the previous year were found to be 2,799 students with an increase of 1.82%.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

• California — 8.04% 
• Texas — 8.94% 
• Florida — 10.14% 
• Arizona — 8.15% 
• District of Columbia — 6.49% 
• Therefore, the mean percentage value of sixth-graders enrolling across 46.40% of charter schools in the US was found to be = (8.04% + 8.94% + 10.14% + 8.15% + 6.49%) / 5 = 8.32%.

• Total percent of sixth-graders in public schools = Total number of sixth-grader (3.88 million) x 100 / Total number of public school students (50.72 million) = 7.64%.

Awareness of charter schools and how they operate

• Most people do not have an understanding of charter schools and how they are operated.

• Nearly half (48%) think that charter schools are at liberty to teach religion.

• More than half (57%) believe that charter schools are permitted to charge tuition.

• Meanwhile, 68% believe that charter schools can select the pupils they want, based on their ability.

• Merely 50% are actually aware that charter schools serve as public schools and operate as such.

Whether they would enroll their child

• Around 13% of school parents, both current and former, would rather to send their kids to a public charter institution if they could.

• At least 43% of parents interviewed in a Schooling In America survey expressed satisfaction with charter schools as opposed to only 26% of those at district learning institutions.

• The share of minority pupils enrolled at charter institutions is higher compared to traditional public schools (TPSs), while the share of white learners is lower.

• Parents often chose institutions with greater concentrations of pupils within their racial group. This indicates that race can be a deciding factor for families when considering charter schools.

Whether people view them favorably or not

• More than two-thirds (70%) of respondents to a Gallup poll preferred the concept of charter institutions, which was significantly higher than those with a favorable perception in the last survey (2002).

• Education Next, which gathers public opinions about education issues, conducted a survey and according to the results of the survey, 39% of people want to see more charter schools. [Source 7]

• Parents admire public charter institutions. Moreover, parents wish that more students could have access these schools as six in ten, or 61%, of people in the United States support the institutions.

• Approximately 62% of parents in the United States would give their local charter schools a grade of A or B, which is about 10% higher than the ratings they would provide for local district establishments.

Additional data around American's awareness of and opinions toward charter schools

• The state with the most charter schools is California (1,224 schools), followed by Texas (702 schools).

• According to a 2015 report, "enrollments are more heavily concentrated in urban areas relative to TPSs enrollment share, with much lower concentrations in suburban and rural areas."

• Compared to traditional public schools, charter schools serve a somewhat higher volume of low-income learners.

• According to the law, when charter schools are over-subscribed, they must choose pupils by lottery.

• On average, charter institutions are smaller compared to TPSs.

• Also, they serve a smaller portion of special education children than TPS feeder-schools.

There has Been a Drop in Support for Charter Schools

• According to the latest Education Next study, there has been "a sizable and worrying decline in support for charter schools."
• In 2017, 39% of Americans said they support the formation of charter schools. This is a big drop from the 51% of American who supported the initiative in 2016.
• Factors contributing to this trend include the change of political environment from the Obama Era to the Age of Trump, scandals involving Charter schools, and obsessive ultra-progressive causes.
• Among blacks, support has fallen from 46% to 37% and 44% to 39% among Hispanics.
• Most state online charter schools in Philadelphia are said to be operating with expired charters, and the Department of Education seems not be in a hurry to fix the problem.
•  St. Louis College Prep, a charter school, was stripped off thousands of dollars in state funding following allegations of over-reporting of attendance records

More Americans Support the Formation of Charter Schools

• Despite the big drop, the number of Americans who support Charter schools is still higher than those who oppose their formation.
•  39% of Americans support the formation for charter schools compared to 36% who express their opposition. The narrow difference, plus the fact that one in four Americans takes no position on charter school, is a clear indication that many are unfamiliar with charter schools.
•  Valence College Preparatory Charter School is an example of a charter school established recently.

The Number of Charter Schools is Growing

• The number of charters schools has been growing since 2005 when majority of the schools opened.
• Between 2005 and 2008, charter schools grew at the rate of 8%, 6% between 2008 and 2014 and 3% between 2014 and 2016.
• Currently there are 7,039 charter schools in the US compared to just over 3,000 in 2005.
• A total of 44 states have passed charter laws. Charter schools currently account for 6% of the total public school enrollment.
• According to Forbes, cities across the United States have witnessed a rapid increase in the number of public charter schools over the past 15 years.
•  Harlem Village Academy West is an example of a charter school established recently.

Charter Schools are Performing Better than Traditional Public Schools

• According to the latest research, charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools, especially in reading.
• There is also strong performance across many student groups, locales and regions.
• This impressive performance has a lot to do with the charter formula — "autonomy, accountability, diversity of learning models, choice and operation by nonprofits"
• The performance is especially good in states that have strong charter laws. These states have produced significant student gains, especially in minorities and high-poverty populations.
• For tests done between 2017and 2018, 61.9 percent of charter kids in middle school passed the English Language Arts. This is compared to 52.2 percent of student in traditional schools.
• In math, 64.3 percent of kids from charter schools passed compared to 56.8 percent of kids from traditional schools. Finally, 56.3 percent of charter kids passed in science compared to 51.7 percent from traditional public schools.
•  BASIS Scottsdale is one of the best performing charter schools.

Charter student enrollment is growing more rapidly than the number of charter schools

•  Student enrollment in charter schools has consistently remained close to historical growth rates even as the creation of new schools slowed down.
• Between 2005 and 2010, the number of students grew from 1.02 million to 1.80 million. This is an addition of 783,000 students and represent a 12 per cent growth.
• Between 2010 and 2016, a total of 1.2 million students were added, representing an increase of 9 per cent.
• BASIS Tucson North and Basis Scottsdale are examples of charter schools that have a high student enrollment at 1,063 and 1,081 students respectively.

A number of State and District Programs are Integrating Elements of Charter Schools into Traditional public schools

• There is an increase in state and district programs that are seeking to integrate elements of charters schools into the traditional public schools.
• States are giving traditional schools greater autonomy in exchange for increased accountability.
• These programs include Boston’s Pilot Schools, which has 21 schools, Los Angeles’ Pilot Schools with 46 schools, Colorado’s Innovation Schools with 98 schools, Massachusetts’ Innovation Schools with 35 schools, Shelby County (TN)’s Innovation Zone Schools with 23 schools, Indianapolis’ Innovation Network Schools with 8 schools, and Springfield (MA)’s Empowerment Zone with 10 schools.

Research Strategy