Charter School Performance Continues to Provoke Debate

Austin, Texas voted to bring in charter schools last month, despite community opposition, the Statesman reported. In Trenton, N.J., a move is afoot to kick charters out. Chicago's school board approved plans in December for 12 new charters to open next year, the Tribune said, even though some of the newcomers hail from troubled chains. Such clash of sentiment seems to follow charter schools wherever they take root.

According to Education Week, there are over 5,000 charter schools among the almost 99,000 public elementary and secondary schools. Charter school enrollment reached 1.6 million by 2008-2009, according to the U.S. Dept. of Education. There are those who hate them and others who swear by them.

As to the all-important question of whether they work, that's open for debate, too. Here are some recent performance reports:

* Colorado charter middle schools outperformed traditional students, while traditional elementary schools outperformed charters in math, reading and writing growth. High school charters took a slight lead in reading and writing but fell slightly behind in math.

* The Orlando Sentinel says half of all charters in that state received a failing grade from the state in 2011.

* A Stanford report showed charter schools outperforming traditional schools in Indiana as of March 2011.

* According to the Texas Center for Educational Research, new open-enrollment charters got poor marks with respect to student achievement in grades 4 to 8 but improved mathematics performance in grades 9 and 10.

* New Jersey's Board of Education reported that 79 percent of charter schools there outperform traditional schools in math while 69 beat out the traditional schools in language arts. The report generated significant controversy with critics charging it failed to address key differences such as the scant number of special education students attending charters.

* In the Twin Cities, most charters do not stand up to the performance of traditional schools, according to a University of Minnesota report.

* D.C. ranked 22 of its charters as performing above expectations for 2011; 34 were rated tier 2, indicating standard performance; and 15 were rated substandard.

* In Ohio, 71 charter schools were graded "F" while no public school districts received a failing grade; another 57 of the 289 charters received "D" grades.

* Chicago's charters have produced wildly inconsistent test results, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Different campuses within single chains perform disparately.

* California, with the most charter schools in the country, has charters at both ends of the performance spectrum.