In March 2020, COVID-19 appeared in the State of Maryland, resulting in strict stay-at-home orders and the shutting down of physical business operations. These restrictions directly impacted College Park Academy (CPA), a public charter middle and high school in Prince George's County, MD that typically follows a hybrid approach to in-person and…

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…

The Kauffman School is a public, tuition-free charter school serving Kansas City students. In the 2018-19 school year, the school enrolled 1,127 students in grades 5 through 12. Most (89 percent) of the students were low income, and 89 percent were Black or Hispanic. This report evaluates the impact of the Kauffman School on student college…

This study was designed to add to the body of work around specialized campuses in the state of Texas. These campuses are becoming increasingly popular across the nation and there is little data to support whether they or traditional campuses are more successful when it comes to student outcomes. This research aims to determine if specialized…

We study the combined effects of charter schools, and their various mechanisms, on a national level and across multiple outcomes. Using difference-in-differences and fixed effects methods, we find that charter entry (above 10 percent market share) increases high school graduation rate in geographic districts by about 2-4 percentage points and…

How are patterns of segregation related to families' engagement in public-school choice policies across U.S. metropolitan areas? This article examines how segregation in urban public schools and the spatial mismatch between school-age children and relatively high-performing schools relate to the shares of Black, Hispanic, and White students…

One of Ohio's oldest public charter schools, Toledo School for the Arts (TSA) was forged from concerns about the state of arts education, especially performing arts and dance. For young people with a keen interest in the arts, any shortage of offerings limits opportunities and may lead to less engagement in school. The latest entry in the Pathway…

Urban K-12 public schools often face challenges that are not found in schools located in suburban areas. Students in urban schools are often not prepared to attend college and are more likely to drop out of high school. This is often the result of limited resources in urban schools, yet educators are expected to close the achievement gap and…

The 2018 Michigan Public High School Context and Performance Report Card is the fourth edition in a series of analyses designed to measure high school performance. The first report was published in 2012 (ED541512) and was followed by analyses in 2014 (ED560065) and 2016 (ED588530). This report is a school-level assessment of academic performance…

In March and April 2021, conservative education leaders representing state education agencies, charter networks, foundations, think tanks, research organizations, testing companies, universities and teachers convened in a private, three-part working group to discuss the future of state assessment and accountability systems. This brief highlights…

Texas enacted legislation allowing for the establishment of charter schools in 1995. The Texas charter sector has subsequently grown into one of the largest in the nation. Today, there are more than 600 charter schools in Texas educating approximately 3.5 percent of public school students. In this study, the authors estimate the impact of charter…

Between 1994 and 2014, New York City engaged in a historic overhaul of its publicly funded high schools. This included the opening of charter high schools (made possible by a 1999 state law) and the creation of new, smaller district high schools that would, in time, replace many of the city's large, traditional, comprehensive, and vocational high…

The winner of the 2018 Pozen Prize for Innovative Schools-- the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (EMK) in Boston-- seeks to empower underrepresented students to succeed in college and high-wage careers. With an emphasis on healthcare-related career exposure and experiential learning, the school places a deliberate focus on preparing…

There is no more compelling case for high-quality school choice than hearing about the life-changing impact it has had on students and their families. In this instance, that choice comes in the form of a charter high school: the Dayton Early College Academy (DECA), an island of excellence in one of Ohio's poorest and most academically challenged…

The "2022 Comprehensive Biennial Report on Texas Public Schools" describes the status of Texas public education, as required by §39.332 of the Texas Education Code. The report contains 16 chapters on the following topics: (1) state progress on academic performance indicators; (2) student performance on state assessments; (3) performance…