Edison Schools, Inc.2004
The long-awaited independent RAND evaluation of the performance of Edison-run schools won't be done until later this year, but Edison's own annual report (the sixth such, covering the 2002-3 school year) contains encouraging data on academic gains being made in many of the public "partnership" schools that Edison is operating. This report is based primarily on spring '02 to spring '03 grade-level averages on state tests. The company-wide averages are encouraging - including progress in schools deemed "in need of improvement under NCLB" - as are learning-gap reductions in predominantly minority schools, at least when compared with district and state averages in those communities. Also evident is that some schools are doing a lot better than others. (In Dayton, for example, one of the Edison-run charter schools surpassed the district average while the other lagged behind it.) Parent satisfaction levels remain very high just about everywhere. One should be a bit wary of self-studies, and all efforts at calculating achievement gains give rise to sundry methodological quandaries. Still, this report conveys positive news for Edison and - much more important - for the kids attending its schools. You can find a summary at http://www.edisonschools.com/design/d23.html and the complete (PDF) report at http://www.edisonschools.com/sixthannualreport.pdf.
