The purpose of this causal-comparative, ex post facto quantitative study was to determine "What are the differences in third-grade reading at the college and career readiness level in charter schools compared to traditional public schools?" The study took place in North Carolina charter and traditional public schools. The sample population consisted of 3022 schools, with 90.5% (n=2735) in traditional public schools and 9.5% (n=287) in charter schools. Students' college and career readiness scores were calculated across charter and traditional public schools by evaluating their spring 2022 North Carolina third-grade reading EOG results. To analyze the overarching question of this study, the researcher tested the hypotheses using independent samples t-tests and ANOVA tests. The results showed a statistically significant difference between charter school subgroups (M=31.45, SD=19.69) and traditional public-school subgroups (M=24.74, SD=17.6). Secondly, Charter school subgroups differed significantly except for Black and Latinx students (p=0.640). All other subgroups exhibited (p=0.001) differences. Thirdly, traditional public school racial subgroups' performance in college and career readiness was statistically significant as all subgroups exhibited (p=0.001). This study contributes to charter schools and deregulation versus fully regulated state policies and traditional public schools debates. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]