Making Waves or Treading Water? An Analysis of Charter Schools in New York State

Abstract

This article compares charter schools and other public schools in New York State. School Report Card (SRC) data measuring student, teacher, and school characteristics from the state's 16 urban school districts with charter schools were examined. Descriptive and multivariate analysis was used. The findings suggest that there are more similarities in student outcomes between charter schools and other public schools than differences. Although charter schools had higher sixth-and eighthgrade math scores, outcomes were comparable along other measures. Systemic issues, such as poverty, suspensions, and poor attendance had relatively stronger effects on student performance regardless of school type.

Models of Success, Teacher Quality and Student Disciplinary Infraction: A Critical Analysis of Chicago’s Urban Preparatory Academies and Harlem Children’s Zone

“…Charter schools were created in the 1990s in response to a failing state and federally controlled public education system (Vergari, 1999). These schools resemble public schools, as they receive partial funding from the state and federal government, however, they have more autonomy with regards to their curriculum, pedagogy, and discipline practices (Silverman, 2013). The influx of funding and support by community and business organization created an initial surge in the enrollment of charter schools in urban communities.…”

Does the reason matter? How student‐reported reasons for school absence contribute to differences in achievement outcomes among 14–15 year olds

“…These include lower achievement (Gottfried, 2009;Silverman, 2012), poorer grade retention (Neild & Balfanz, 2006) and increased likelihood of early school dropout (Rumberger, 1995). Poor attendance patterns can start as early as kindergarten or Year 1 (Chang & Romero, 2008;Hancock et al, 2013) and are associated with long-term cycles of diminishing attendance, poor engagement the provision of support services.…”

“…In this context, it is unclear that financial penalties for parents are an effective preventive mechanism for addressing the vast array of reasons that students have for missing school. Certainly the risk factors for higher absence rates are well known and include poverty and disadvantage (Chang & Romero, 2008;Silverman, 2012;Tobin, 2014), chronic illness (Shaw & McCabe, 2007) and mental health problems (Lawrence et al, 2015), amongst others. However, a simple per capita count of absences assumes that all absences impact upon achievement and other outcomes in similar ways.…”

“It’s just really not me”: How pre-service English teachers from a traditional teacher education program experience student-teaching in charter-school networks

“…Popular media have portrayed charter schools as either "producing miracles" (Baker, 2014) or as "schemes" that "shift tax dollars away from schools serving black and poor students" (Fenwick, 2013). Professional researchers have considered charter schools' academic outcomes (Angrist, Dynarski, Kane, Pathak, & Walters, 2012;Silverman, 2013). Yet despite the much debated nature of charter schools, a specific population-pre-service teachers (PSTs) completing student-teaching assignments in schools run by charter management organizations (CMOs)-has been largely overlooked by current research.…”