A Think Twice Review of:

Summit Charter Organization Continues to Make Unjustified Claims

Think Twice - May 10, 2022

Publisher/Think Tank - Summit Public Schools

Author(s) - Anum Ali Mohammed and Adam Black

Summit Public Schools, a charter school organization operating schools in California and Oregon, published Pathways to Success: Exploring the Long-Term Outcomes of Alumni from Summit Public Schools in September 2021, detailing the success of its graduates. A review by Audrey Amrein-Beardsley of Arizona State University examines these questionable assertions made about the performance and life satisfaction of Summit graduates. The report claims that Summit alumni graduated from college at nearly double the national average and self-reported high levels of well-being, fulfillment, and workplace satisfaction. It also reports that alumni from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds now make more than $60,000 per year on average working full time.

Reviewer(s) - Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Arizona State University

However, Professor Amrein-Beardsley explains, low survey response rates and incomplete or inaccurate methodology prevent these claims from being justified. Although the report professes to be conducted for internal purposes, Summit also distributed an accompanying press release that announced its findings to a broader audience, making the report's claims of potential interest to policymakers, practitioners, and the public.