Schools with more targets to meet under NCLB were far more likely to be branded as in need of improvement. Some critics of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have argued that large schools and schools with a diverse student population are penalized by the law's provisions. School performance results from 2004 in Philadelphia appear to…

In this report, Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School (TMA) submits its Development Plan for the renovation and improvements to the Nichols Avenue School building and site, which will serve as the future home for their school. Working with an experienced planning, design and construction team, they have prepared a Development Plan…

In 1998, The Cleveland Foundation developed a strategy to support select Cleveland area charter schools as part of its commitment to local school reform. The Cleveland Foundation provided start-up funding to four charter schools it deemed both promising and viable. In 2000, The Cleveland Foundation contracted with The Evaluation Center to provide…

This report by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the first comprehensive effort to assess student achievement in public schools managed by Mosaica Education, Inc., one of the leading private management companies in education, marketing itself to charter boards and school districts since 1997. Schools examined in the report had been…

The author describes the process of randomized study for charter schools. Because most charter schools have more applicants than places, which are awarded by lottery, it is possible to follow a charter school's entire pool of applicants. The author contrasts the ability of using the entire applicant to pool of charter schools to a study that…

The political tradition of local school governance predates the existence of the United States. Yet the most prominent mechanisms for the exercise of local discretion have evolved considerably from their colonial origins in response to the changing political climate of the nation, constituent demands, and legislative innovation. Recognizing the…

The 2004-05 school year was tumultuous for charter schools, marked by dueling studies with conflicting conclusions on whether charter schools boost student performance or hinder it. Even before this dustup occurred, a consortium of foundations decided to support a new national research center to raise the standard of research on charter schools…

In this final report of a 3-year evaluation, researchers explored the developing infrastructure in New York City charter schools and identified areas in which school stakeholders--private partners, boards of trustees, school leaders, parents, and teachers--needed support to help charter schools succeed. The study was based on monthly visits to…

This document consists of articles 1 through 39 published in the electronic journal "Education Policy Analysis Archives" for the year 2003. (SLD)

The focus of most analysts involved in education reform seems to be whether charter schools are successful. This paper identifies 53 research-based studies that draw mainly objective conclusions based on evaluation of data. Literally, hundreds of policy papers, study articles, and analyses have been written on the charter-school phenomenon, an…

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is being implemented in Alberta school jurisdictions and charter schools in the 2000-01 school year. While the "Framework for the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement," December 1999, provides the AISI background, goals, principles, considerations, clarifications, and…

This monograph presents the results of the seventh annual survey of state school finance legislation with an overview of legislation passed in 2000, abstracts of all bills passed, and a trend analysis dating back to 1994, including both established and emergent trends. Established trends in the funding areas of educational technology, school…

This article examines education reform in America, focusing on charter schools. It outlines the current issues in the educational system and details some of the problems that have been identified in recent years, such as lagging test scores. Some of the other difficulties that schools face include discipline problems, wasteful federal…

This primer explains school choice, historically reviewing the origins and growth of tax-funded schools nationwide and how they became synonymous with public education. It examines the rise of government-funded and operated schools in Michigan through the efforts of Isaac Crary and John Pierce and describes the negative effects of a 1970 state…

In this report, the extent and nature of education freedom is estimated for each state, using a new Education Freedom Index (EFI). This analysis shows the remarkable differences in education freedom among the states and attempts to make educational freedom a concept that becomes the subject of policy debate. The EFI is composed of measures of five…