A Florida Department of Education annual charter school performance report (March 2019) shows that students in charter schools outperformed their peers in traditional schools in nearly every category.
Using 2017-18 school year data, Student Achievement in Florida’s Charter Schools: A Comparison of the Performance of Charter School Students with Traditional Public School Students compared achievement, learning gains and achievement gaps across a variety of subgroups and grade levels. The statutorily mandated report is based on more than 4.2 million test scores and makes 195 comparisons of academic success between students attending charter schools and students attending traditional public schools.
Highlights of the report include:
- In 63 of the 77 (82%) comparisons, students enrolled in charter schools demonstrated higher rates of grade level performance than their peers in traditional public school.
- The report concluded that the achievement gap was lower for charter school students in 19 of 22 (86%) comparisons. The achievement gap component included English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.
- When comparing learning gains, the percentage of students making learning gains was higher in charter schools in 88 of the 96 (91.7%) comparisons.
- In comparisons of achievement and learning gains, African-American students in charter schools performed better than African-American students in district-managed schools in 89% of the comparisons.
- In comparisons of achievement and learning gains, Hispanic students in charter schools performed better than Hispanic students in district-managed schools in 93% of the comparisons.
- In comparisons of achievement and learning gains, students eligible for free/reduced lunch in charter schools performed better than students eligible for free/reduced lunch in district-managed schools in 93% of the comparisons.
Results from a previous report using 2015-2016 data, also showed charter school students surpassing peers in district schools in most comparisons.
For 2017-18 school grades, 47% of graded charter schools earned an “A” compared to 28% of graded traditional schools.
Highlights of the Quality Counts 2018 report include:
- Florida’s overall rank for the K-12 Achievement category increased from 11 to 4.
- Florida outperformed the nation in every measure of achievement gains, poverty gap and Advanced Placement – 14 of the 18 achievement measures overall.
- Florida is ranked 2nd for improvement in both grade 4 reading and mathematics.
- Florida is ranked 3rd for improvement in grade 8 reading.
CREDO: Minority Student Soar at Charter Schools
In a 2015 analysis of charter performance in forty-one urban locations by CREDO showed that students who enrolled in urban charters for at least four years gained a total of 72 days of learning in English language arts (ELA) and 108 days—or more than half a year of learning—in math. Here’s more: black students in poverty gained 44 days of ELA learning and 59 days of math learning if they attended a public charter school in the area the study focused on. Similarly, Hispanic students in poverty gained 48 days of additional learning in math and 25 days in ELA.
click here to Download
Some schools that were singled out saw double-digit test score gains among poor students.
At Pinecrest Academy North, also a charter, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students earning a “satisfactory” score jumped by 38 points in math and 21 points in reading over four years.”
In the same period, Miami-Dade as a district posted gains of nine points in math and five in reading. The state improved six points in math and three in reading.
Siblings find safety, inspiration & second family at charter school
click here to learn more
Charter takeover of an entire district helped students ‘have a chance at life’
For close to a decade, Jefferson County was one of the lowest-performing districts in the state where, according to student testimony before Tallahassee lawmakers, “students were unmotivated and it seemed that teachers were more interested in gossip than teaching.” All that has changed since Somerset Academy took over.
click here to learn more
