Lewis C. Solmon, Human Resources Policy Corporation, and Pete Goldschmidt, Center for the Study of Evaluation, UCLAMarch 2004
Although this Goldwater Institute study does what its title implies - compare traditional public and charter schools on retention, school switching, and achievement growth - it does something more: dispels the myth that performance differences between students in charters and traditional public schools are due to "better" students attending the former type of school (at least in the Grand Canyon state). Analysts calculated the overall effects of attending Arizona charter schools vs. district-operated schools on achievement and achievement growth, using SAT-9 reading test scores. The findings indicate that charter students started with lower scores in the elementary grades but have annual achievement gains larger than their traditional public school counterparts. The achievement growth for students who switch to charter schools later is less impressive. District high school achievement gains surpass those of charter high schools. The authors attribute this to the different nature of charters at this level; elementary charters focus on developing academic skills while high school charters are more apt to serve students who might "slip through the cracks" or to specialize in vocational ed, former drop-outs or children with disabilities. To see for yourself, go to http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article.php/431.html.