A Think Twice Review of:

National Charter School Study 2013

Think Twice - Jul 16, 2013

Publisher/Think Tank - Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University

Author(s) -

The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University examined charter schools in 26 states and New York City. Its primary findings were: (a) a small positive effect of being in a charter school on reading scores and no impact on math scores; and (b) a relative improvement in average charter school quality since CREDO’s 2009 study.

Reviewer(s) - Andrew Maul, University of Colorado Boulder Abby McClelland, University of Colorado Boulder

Reviewers find significant reasons for caution in interpreting the study’s results. The review points out that the study itself shows only a tiny real impact on the part of charter schools: “less than one hundredth of one percent of the variation in test performance is explainable by charter school enrollment.” Even setting aside its analytical flaws, the study merely confirms that charter schools perform on par with traditional public schools.