The number of English language learners (ELLs) has increased. The problem is ELLs in a middle Tennessee Charter School network meet challenges in achieving English proficiency, thus limiting academic and social prospects. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if there was a relationship between leader-led…

(Purpose) This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Imagine Math by comparing the performance of program users and non-users on the NWEA MAP Growth Math assessment. (Methods) Propensity score matching was utilized to compare statistically similar southeastern U.S. charter school students who used or did not use the Imagine Math program during…

A variety of databases were used to answer questions about charter and public schools with regard low-income students, special education students, and academic performance. Charter schools in Dallas and Detroit served comparable numbers of poor children, but charter schools enrolled far fewer students in special education.…

The charter school sector has expanded beyond brick-and-mortar schools to cyber schools, where enrollment grew almost tenfold between 2015 and 2020. While a large literature documents the effects of charter schools on test scores, fewer studies explore impacts on attainment or postsecondary outcomes and there is almost no work exploring the…

Perhaps the most extreme step that education leaders can take to improve school quality is to close a school entirely. School closures are controversial due to the harms and disruptions they can create for families. These harms may be particularly severe if displaced families do not receive adequate support in transitioning to new schools. Since…

The purpose of this study was to find a way to increase low literacy skills for 5th- grade students in a charter school. The research explored the relationship between the attitudes, behaviors, standardized test scores, and perceptions related to student reading; parents' attitudes and perceptions related to their student's reading; and teachers'…

Virtual charter schools provide full-time, tuition-free K-12 education through internet-based instruction. Although virtual schools offer a personalized learning experience, most research suggests these schools are negatively associated with achievement. Few studies account for differential rates of student mobility, which may produce biased…

The rapid expansion of school choice is restructuring public education in the United States. This study examines associations between charter and magnet school enrollment, White-Black and White-Hispanic segregation, and test score gaps at the district level from 2009 to 2015 in third to eighth grade using the Stanford Education Data Archive and…

This dissertation analyzes data in order to answer the research question, "Do eighth grade students who have participated regularly in their school band programs for four consecutive years achieve higher scores in New Jersey's Grade Eight PARCC Assessment than students of similar ability who do not play a musical instrument?" Data was…

Cognitive skills are associated with academic performance, but little is known about how to improve these skills in the classroom. Here, we present the results of a pilot study in which teachers were trained to engage students in cognitive skill practice through playing games. Fifth-grade students at an experimental charter school were randomly…

This article reports on the fine results being experienced by students from the South Bronx (New York), at one of the seven Icahn Charter Schools. Jeff Litt, superintendent of Icahn's network of charter schools, has been instrumental in seeing that the learning about history, other cultures, and other countries--subjects fascinating to…

This Research Brief investigated differences among schools in the initial student achievement and annual rates of ELA growth in middle grades using a variety of student and school demographic characteristics. It found a statistically significant difference in the initial ELA achievement but not in the annual rates of ELA growth between students in…

Recent work has shown that Boston charter schools raise standardized test scores more than their traditional school counterparts. Critics of charter schools argue that charter schools create those achievement gains by focusing exclusively on test preparation, at the expense of deeper learning. In this paper, I test that critique by estimating the…

School buses may be a critical education policy lever, breaking the link between schools and neighborhoods and facilitating access to school choice. Yet little is known about the commute for bus riders, including the average length of the bus ride or whether long commutes harm academic outcomes. We begin to fill this gap using data from New York…

Critics of charter schools in New York City, America's largest school district, often allege that charters score better on standardized tests, on average, than traditional public schools because charters "cream-skim" (i.e., attract) the brightest, most motivated, students. Yet this accusation neglects the fact that not all traditional…