Chicago's "multi-grade" charter high schools (those that include middle school grades) appear to be increasing students' rates of graduation and college entry. The overall performance of Chicago's charter schools in raising student test scores is approximately on par with that of traditional public schools in Chicago. Charter schools…

Most studies focus on the effects of charter attendance on short-term student achievement (test scores), using either data sets that follow students over time or random assignment via school admission lotteries to control for differences between students in charter and traditional public schools. Beyond measuring achievement effects, however,…

Over the past decade, charter schools have been among the fastest-growing segments of the K-12 education sector in Chicago and across the country. This report addresses several key issues related to charter schools using student-level data provided by Chicago Public Schools. Students leaving traditional public schools for charter schools in…

Over the past decade, charter schools have been among the fastest-growing segments of the K-12 education sector in Chicago and across the country. In this report, the authors examine the following issues related to charter schools (1) Are charter schools attracting high- or low-achieving students and do transfers affect the racial mix in the…

The first U.S. charter school opened in 1992, and the scale of the charter movement has since grown to 4,000 schools and more than a million students in 40 states plus the District of Columbia. With this growth has also come a contentious debate about the effects of the schools on their own students and on students in nearby traditional public…