The second edition of the "ES Review" brings together, in one setting, abridged versions of research reports, outside articles and op-eds, book reviews, and other Education Sector publications. The 2007 edition features: (1) K-12 Accountability (Laboratories of Reform: Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education (Bill…

Most policymakers, charter school operators, and others immersed in the charter school movement since it began in the early 1990s have focused their attention primarily on charter schools, not on the public bodies that license these schools to operate. As the charter school movement has grown, there has been increasing recognition that effective…

This "ERIC Digest" considers the U.S. charter-school movement, which has produced about 800 schools in half the states and enrolls over 100,000 students. Charter schools reflect founders' varied philosophies and commit to achieve certain educational outcomes within a certain period, in exchange for waiving many restrictive regulations.…

Over the past few years, charter schools have received dramatic popular support. An overview of charter schools, including the arguments of their supporters and critics, is presented in this report. The text presents assumptions about the charter movement and discusses their strengths and weaknesses through a research-based synthesis. Advocates of…

The promise charter schools hold for public school innovation and reform lies in an unprecedented combination of freedom and accountability. Underwritten with public funds but run independently, charter schools are free from a range of state laws and district policies stipulating what and how they teach, where they can spend their money, and who…

The Texas example illustrates the challenge faced by today's charter movement: how to meet growing demand while maintaining quality. Its considerable progress is sometimes obscured by headlines about the few schools at the top that generate enormous excitement and world-class achievement and the few at the bottom that use their autonomy for unwise…

This book examines charter school accountability in theory and in fact. It attempts to explain how new forms of accountability for public education actually work. Information comes from a study of 150 schools and 60 authorizing agencies in six states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Michigan). Extensive case studies of…

This primer is designed to help charter school leaders in Ohio in coordinating testing and test data reporting procedures as required by state and federal guidelines. The report discusses the roles and responsibilities of charter schools under Ohio's new accountability system and what charter schools need to know to administer the tests of the…

This report describes an evaluation of charter schools in Arizona. Eighty-two charter schools representing the 137 charter-school holders in the state participated in the study. The schools were selected to be representative of all state charter schools with regard to location, population density, grade level, and sponsoring agency. A total of 303…

This report seeks to further the debate about the overall reform impact of Colorado's charter schools. It focuses on the characteristics and performance of the first 32 charter schools in the state, ones that have been operating for at least 2 years as of the end of the 1997-98 school year. The document identifies promising trends: the performance…

Argues that market-driven education (charter schools, vouchers) is the most effective, albeit overlooked, reform strategy since publication of "A Nation at Risk." Describes corresponding growth of for-profit school management. Offers several recommendations to improve effectiveness of market-based reforms, such as state' continuing…

Provides background information on the Hudson Institute's "Charter Schools in Action" project that studied 50 charter schools in 10 states. Examines innovative ways charter schools organize and support themselves, and presents five lessons from the charter-school movement. Public schools would benefit by becoming more consumer-oriented,…

Chronicles the nation's testing madness, highlighting the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System's foibles, including its categorizations of "test-effective" teachers. Examines research on private/public school comparisons, failure of a Chilean voucher system, a privatization conference's testimonial proceedings, the class-size…

To measure returns on taxpayer investments, two distinct evaluation levels are needed: a publicly accessible system that provides data and analytical conclusions for a state's school districts and charter schools; and an indepth assessment of individual school districts or sites. Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services framework looks…

Examines intended and unintended results of the charter school movement, addressing both sides of the debate and explaining that increased autonomy can heighten inequalities, and choice can sometimes exclude certain members of society. Discusses: autonomy for accountability; autonomy for efficiency; competition; innovation; and choice. Notes that…