A stricter method for measuring charter school performance has added fuel to the debate over whether these independent public schools perform better than traditional school district schools.
A new way of measuring charter performance ordered by the U.S. Department of Education casts this public school choice movement in a less favorable light.
The recalculation shows 34 fewer charter schools met all of their performance targets, also called “adequate yearly progress” or AYP, toward the 2014 goal of having all students perform at or above grade level in reading and math as is required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The recalculated results also show none of the 12 cyberschools in operation met their performance targets last year.
Altogether, the recalculations show that only a third, or 51, charters hit all of their performance benchmarks as compared to the 59 percent, or 92, announced by the state Department of Education last fall.
Schools or districts that fail to make AYP receive additional oversight and could eventually result in the school being ordered to hire more staff or close.
Click here to read the full article by Jan Murphy published in The Patriot News (January 23, 2013).
