Separating fact and fiction.....the reviewers found that the report's main purpose appears to be the
"repetition or 'spinning' of claims voiced by advocacy groups and think
tanks that promote privatization and school choice." Furthermore, the
reviewers found that it relied almost exclusively on advocacy documents
rather than more careful and balanced empirical research, and provides
only a superficial examination of any "criticisms" regarding charter
schools.... Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.
I give them credit - but I didn't need no stinkin' study to tell me what they find.
National Charter School Report Misleading and Superficial, Review Finds
Contact:
Gary Miron, (269) 599-7965, gary.miron@wmich.edu
Daniel Quinn, (517) 203-2940, dquinn@greatlakescenter.org
EAST LANSING, Mich. (Feb. 23, 2015)
— A report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
(NAPCS) attempted to "separate fact from fiction" about charter schools.
The report addressed 21 "myths" regarding charter schools, which were
quickly rejected. However, an academic review of the report finds that
it perpetuated its own myths and fictions about charter schools rather
than adding to the discourse surrounding school choice.
The report, Separating Fact and Fiction: What You Need to Know about Charter Schools,
was assembled by NAPCS with no author identified. Gary Miron, Western
Michigan University, William J. Mathis, University of Colorado Boulder,
and Kevin G. Welner, University of Colorado Boulder, reviewed the report
for the Think Twice think tank review project of the National Education
Policy Center (NEPC) with funding from the Great Lakes Center for
Education Research and Practice.
Succinctly, the original report addressed various claims about
charter schools in such areas as financial equality of charter schools,
lower teacher qualifications, student selection demographics, academic
outcomes, segregation, and innovation.
Yet, the reviewers found that the report's main purpose appears
to be the "repetition or 'spinning' of claims voiced by advocacy groups
and think tanks that promote privatization and school choice."
Furthermore, the reviewers found that it relied almost exclusively on
advocacy documents rather than more careful and balanced empirical
research, and provides only a superficial examination of any
"criticisms" regarding charter schools.
The review is organized in a format that lists each of the
criticisms identified, and then provides a short commentary based on the
extant research literature. Where the original document overlooked
research evidence, the reviewers provide readers with a valuable tool to
examine charter school criticisms.
Additionally, the reviewers find that the report fails to
redirect the sector toward its original ideals, "Charter schools were
originally designed to be a new form of public school. They were
supposed to be small, locally run, innovative and highly accountable.
They were supposed to be open to all and were expected to provide new
freedoms to teachers to creatively innovate and serve their
communities."
Instead, the reviewers point out the most disappointing
non-myth that comes out of the research: "In reality, the main outcomes
of charter schools have been to promote privatization and accelerated
the stratification and re-segregation of schools."
The reviewers conclude, this report is unlikely to be of any
use to "the discerning policy-maker" and fails to engage the important
underlying issues.
Read the full review at:
http://www.greatlakescenter.org
Find Separating Fact and Fiction on the web:
http://www.publiccharters.org/publications/separating-fact-fiction-public-charter-schools/
Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center,
provides the public, policymakers and the press with timely,
academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is
made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education
Research and Practice.
The review can also be found on the NEPC website:
http://nepc.colorado.edu
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