{"id":27146,"date":"2023-06-17T20:44:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T20:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/?p=27146"},"modified":"2024-05-29T21:08:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T21:08:58","slug":"charter-schools-vs-public-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/charter-schools-vs-public-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Charter Schools vs Public Schools: Which is Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"charter<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Public schools are government-run schools to which students in their catchment area are guaranteed access. Carter schools are independent schools that do not operate under the rules of the state and which parents can choose <\/em>to send their children to.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a public school is government owned and run, a charter school is run by either a for-profit or not-for-profit organization that accepts funding from the government for the education of students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main differences between public and charter schools are: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Charter schools have greater operating freedoms than public schools.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Charter schools are more accountable for student grades (they may be shut down by \u2018sponsors\u2019 – i.e governing bodies – if they are seen as failing).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Parents can choose which charter school to send their child.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Charter schools are often able to experiment much more with teaching strategies and philosophies <\/a>. They may, for example, have a pedagogical focus like \u2018STEM\u2019, \u2018Montessori\u2019, or \u2018College Preparation\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But detractors argue that charter schools are often not held to the same standards as public schools by the state; for example, on average<\/em>, teachers a less qualified (Epple, Romano & Zimmer, 2015). Furthermore, there is concern that charter schools do not carry their weight socially; for example, on average <\/em>they admit less special needs students than public schools (Mommandi & Welner, 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

    Charter Schools vs Public Schools: Key Similarities and Differences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The following data is aggregated from a range of academic studies and meta-analyses, namely, the National Bureau of Economics Charter School Survey <\/em>and the Survey of America\u2019s Charter Schools<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Characteristics<\/strong><\/th>Traditional Public Schools<\/strong><\/th>Charter Schools<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Funding<\/strong><\/td>Funded by taxpayer dollars.<\/td>Primarily funded by taxpayer dollars, but may also receive private funding. State funding is about 28% less <\/em>than public schools (Batdorff et al., 2014).<\/td><\/tr>
    Tuition Fee<\/strong><\/td>Free for students.<\/td>Free for students.<\/td><\/tr>
    School choice<\/strong><\/td>Students are generally assigned based on where they live and admittance is guaranteed to all students within the catchment area.<\/td>Families choose to attend. Charter schools often have an ethos such as \u2018STEM\u2019, \u2018College Prep\u2019, or \u2018Montessori\u2019, which can be desirable to some parents. Admission can be competitive, but in most regions, a lottery is used to select who can attend to prevent selection bias<\/a>.<\/td><\/tr>
    Admission<\/strong><\/td>Must accept all students within their district boundaries.<\/td>Theoretically, should be unbiased in admittance such as by using a lottery system if more students apply than there are available spots. However, some have been found to use strategies to deter low-income, EAL, or special needs students. For example, by not providing information in Spanish, requiring parents to volunteer at the school (generally only a possibility for higher-income families), selectively founding the schools in wealthier suburbs, etc. (Mommandi & Welner, 2018).<\/td><\/tr>
    Curriculum<\/strong><\/td>Curriculum standards set by state and local districts.<\/td>Greater freedom in curriculum design, within state guidelines. This allows them to follow alternative teaching styles<\/a>, such as incorporating Montessori and STEM foci.<\/td><\/tr>
    Accountability<\/strong><\/td>Schools are accountable to the school district and state.<\/td>Schools are accountable to their authorizer (which could be a school district, state, or other entity) and must meet the terms of their charter or risk being shut down.<\/td><\/tr>
    Teacher certification<\/strong><\/td>Teachers must be certified.<\/td>Certification requirements vary by state; some charter schools may not require teacher certification (Monarrez, Kisida & Chingos, 2021). Make sure you ask your local charter school about minimum standards for teachers.<\/td><\/tr>
    Special Education Services<\/strong><\/td>Must provide special education services. On average, more special education students attend traditional public schools than charter schools.<\/td>Must provide special education services, but the extent and availability can vary, which may deter parents of children with special needs. They tend to carry a lower amoung of special needs students – at 8% in charter schools vs. 11% in state schools (Epple, Romano & Zimmer, 2015).<\/td><\/tr>
    Class Size<\/strong><\/td>Contrary to popular believe, class sizes are about the same on average in public schools  as charter schools (Monarrez, Kisida & Chingos, 2021).<\/td>About the same on average as public schools (Monarrez, Kisida & Chingos, 2021).<\/td><\/tr>
    Governance<\/strong><\/td>Governed by a school board.<\/td>Governed by a board of directors or other entity as outlined in their charter.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Related: Charter Schools vs Private Schools<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Charter Schools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Strengths of Charter Schools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In some districts, charter schools out-perform traditional public schools. In other districts, traditional public schools outperform charter schools. It\u2019s a patchwork, which on balance demonstrates that charter schools and traditional public schools need to be examined on an individual basis by parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The only compelling meta-analysis data I could find about differences in performance is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n