Hello, Great Lakes Center subscriber:

Two reports written by Reason Foundation authors examine different aspects of the impacts of charter schools. The first report asks whether the frequency of student misbehavior is lower in Pennsylvania charter schools compared to public schools. The second report asks whether principals of public schools in Texas change budget allocations when faced with the threat of charter school competition. The authors pose interesting questions regarding the advantages of charter schools, but do not provide adequate evidence to back their claims. Read on to learn more. 

Dr. Gretchen Dziadosz 
Executive Director 
Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice 

REPORT REVIEWED

Think Twice Reviewer Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, reviewed “Are Charter Schools Safer than District-Run Schools? Evidence from Pennsylvania” and “Effects of Charter School Competition on District School Budgeting Decisions: Experimental Evidence from Texas.” The two reports look at impacts of charter schools that are studied less frequently.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS FOUND

Fuller found the two reports fall short in providing evidence to back their claims. 

The first report on Pennsylvania’s schools shows rates of student infractions on average are lower in charter schools. Using that data, the author states outcomes for students would improve if access to public charter schools in the state were increased. The author also states the methods of compiling the data are limited and the results can be defined as correlational instead of causal.  

Fuller stated it is unclear whether differences in the data are due to the selection of “certain kinds of families” in charter schools, or from the organizational practices of charter schools. He noted the lower rate of student infractions comes from data in Philadelphia County, which serves large populations of disadvantaged students. However, it does not cover other parts of the state. 

The second report makes the claim that principals in Texas will change how they allocate school budgets if faced with the threat of competition from the opening of a hypothetical charter school. The report claims principals change budget allocations for different positions and instructional resources and claims anticipated charter school competition has “large negative effects” on reported spending in certain categories of support staff.  

Fuller determined the report provides little significant statistical information because it was informed by just 8% of Texas principals who participated in a statewide survey. As a result, it would be difficult to generalize the report's findings, he concluded. 

Neither report should be used to help determine education policy due to their lack of evidence to support their wide-ranging claims.   

Read the full review on the Great Lakes Center website or on the National Education Policy Center website. 

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

TALKING POINTS TO REMEMBER

1. New reports by Reason Foundation authors do not offer enough evidence to support their claims about certain impacts of charter schools in Pennsylvania and Texas.  

2. The review found the reports do not use enough evidence or correct methodology in examining the impacts of charter schools on student behavior and budget allocations. 

3. The reports are of little practical use to policymakers due to their lack of evidence.    

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