The purpose of this study was to compare virtual school students' learning outcomes with traditional school students' learning outcomes in Texas. The research design was a quantitative study using a retrospective causal-comparative design. The researcher used archival state assessment data to compare the learning outcomes of K-12 virtual school…

Charter schools represent an increasingly important form of school choice in the United States. Charter schools are public schools, with a difference. Compared to traditional public schools, they are exempted from some of the state laws and regulations that govern traditional public schools. In this way, parents come to have a greater number of…

The author, a former school board member and currently head of nationwide parent organization, assesses the competition between charter and traditional public schools, concluding that the competition and acrimony among them does not help them deliver a better education. Policies should be focused on helping both types of schools improve education,…

Each time children change schools, they leave behind friends, and must adapt to a new environment. This new environment may include not only a new school, but also a new home, a new neighborhood, a new part of town, and, potentially, a new family arrangement. This larger array of possible changes will determine if the move causes overall benefit…

Extensive research has compared the overrepresentation of exclusionary (suspension type) consequences of certain groups. However, research has not been conducted to compare institutions that work primarily with at-risk, minority racial groups and those with disabilities, to traditional public institutions. Educational leaders have created numerous…

National mandates such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the state of Texas standardized system of accountability pressures educators to provide optimum educational experiences for our students. The momentous challenge is not just to educate students who can compete in the 21st century global society but to prepare them for the most…

The purpose of this study was to examine two types of school organizational structures: elementary open-enrollment charter schools and elementary traditional public schools. The study examined the degree to which attendance rates (based upon the prior school year's data), class size and average number of years of teaching experience were related…

This study was designed to investigate the effects of the year-round calendar on student performance in Texas middle schools as measured by achievement on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. In the State of Texas, 15 schools served students in grades six through eight using the year-round calendar in 2009-2010. The 15…

The price of teacher attrition is high, not only financially, but also in terms of human and institutional costs. The inability to retain beginning teachers contributes significantly to teacher shortages. This study investigates the effect of the preparation program on teacher attrition. Attrition rates of elementary teacher graduates from two…