This research brief details some of the prominent ways that individuals, companies, and organizations secure financial gain and generate profit by controlling and running charter schools. To illustrate how charter school policy functions to promote privatization and profiteering, the authors explore differences between charter schools and…

In "Teacher Quality 2.0," American Enterprise Institute (AEI) education experts Frederick M. Hess and Michael Q. McShane convene a diverse array of contributors to examine fruitful innovations that promise to improve teacher quality in a more strategic way. Much of the cutting-edge work in teacher quality is happening in nontraditional…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between academic achievement of secondary charter and traditional schools. Despite the national proliferation of charter schools, few people are studying the academic impact these schools are having with regard to state-mandated tests. Charter schools have been funded and politically…

In the context of the charter school movement in the last 25 years, this author analyzed the 2007-2008 Schools and Staff Survey (SASS) data to answer two research questions: (a) after controlling for school level and school size what are the differences between traditional and charter public school principals when examining their personal and…

Traditional public school districts hold a monopoly over the financing and ownership of public education facilities. With rare exceptions, public charter schools have no legal claim to these buildings. This monopoly is an accident of history. It would never have developed had there been substantial numbers of other public schools, not supervised…

The academic success of any school depends on its teachers. However, relatively little research exists on the qualities principals value in teacher hiring, and we know almost nothing about charter school principals' preferences. This article addresses this gap in the literature using survey results for a matched sample of charter and traditional…

In the five years since the first National Education Policy Center (NEPC) "Annual Report on Virtual Education" was released in 2013, virtual education has continued to be a focal point for policymakers. Proponents argue that virtual education can expand student choices and improve the efficiency of public education. In particular,…

"Charter School Performance in New Jersey" examined whether students in grades 3-8 attending charter schools in New Jersey made more gains in math and reading achievement than similar students attending traditional public schools. Based on an analysis across charter schools, the authors reported that charter school students made…

For students with disabilities who are at risk of leaving high school without graduating, virtual schools have become a popular alternative to traditional schools. One promising approach to increasing graduation rates is to design learning environments that serve students with disabilities through the 5 Cs framework designed to increase school…

A belief commonly held in the K-12 education community is that parents can have a positive impact on their child's learning. However, little research has examined parental involvement in an online learning environment. In this study, researchers using survey data found that generally students and parents viewed parent-instructor and learner-parent…

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring innovation in charter schools. The authors ask two questions: (1) What practices constitute innovation in various local and state contexts?; and (2) Do levels and types of innovation differ between charter schools and traditional public schools? The authors' sample frame includes…

This paper provides the first comparison of principals' preferences for teacher characteristics across traditional public and charter schools. Understanding how charter principals' preferences differ from those of public school principals contributes to scholarship on both teacher labor markets and charter schools. One of the first studies of…

Scant information exists regarding the status of students with disabilities in the charter sector. With the release of the most recent U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (NCSECS) embraced the opportunity to examine these issues across the universe of…

Scant information exists regarding the status of students with disabilities in the charter sector. While there is some understanding of several high-profile issues (e.g., enrollment gaps, counseling out, the provision of special education services, and growth of specialized charter schools), to date, little has been published to verify or disprove…

The simple gesture of a home visit--where the focus will be on the child and not on academics or classroom behavior--pays huge dividends, say teachers. A teacher who has met a student's parents in their home is better equipped to reach that child and keep him or her on track through the year. Home visits are common, if not mandatory, in charter…