Background: Although we have learned a good deal from lottery-based and quasi-experimental studies of charter schools, much of what goes on inside of charter schools remains a "black box" to be unpacked. Grounding our work in neoclassical market theory and institutional theory, we examine differences in the social organization of schools…

The rapid expansion of charter schools reflects a growing interest in education reform and school turnaround efforts across the United States. However, national research on charter school performance remains inconclusive. Of particular debate is the impact of transferring from a traditional public school to a charter school on student achievement…

In a previous "EDUCAUSE Quarterly" article, the authors reported the results of quasi-experimental research on the University of Minnesota's (UMN) new, technology-enhanced learning spaces called Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs). That investigation found--after controlling for potentially confounding factors such as instructor,…