Compared to the educational gains that charter students would have had in a traditional public school (TPS), the analysis shows on average that students in Massachusetts charter schools make larger learning gains in both reading and mathematics. At the school level, 44 percent of the charter schools have significantly more positive learning gains than their TPS counterparts in reading, while 13 percent of charter schools have significantly lower learning gains. In math, 56 percent of the charter schools studied outperform their TPS peers and 17 percent perform worse.
Using randomized admission lotteries, this paper finds strong positive effects of Boston’s elementary, middle, and high schools for special education and ELL students. Charters generate substantial gains for special needs students in math and English standardized exam scores, English proficiency, and college preparation outcomes. Even the most disadvantaged special needs students perform better in charter schools compared to traditional public schools.
Furthermore, charters remove special needs classifications at a higher rate than traditional public schools and move special education students to more inclusive classrooms.
Among students attending BPS schools, special education students and ELL students score about 0.87 and 0.39 standard deviations respectively below non-special needs students in math. Since charters generate math gains of 0.266 standard deviations for special education students, one year in a charter reduces the special education achievement gaps by 30.5 percent. ELL students score 0.345 standard deviations higher in charters, narrowing the ELL achievement gap by 88.0 percent.
Setren compared the achievement of special needs lottery applicants in charters and in traditional public schools, and was surprised to discover that across the board, regardless of their level of need, these students are much more successful in charter schools. In fact, for English-language learners, a year in a charter school essentially allowed them to catch up to native English speakers in traditional public schools, erasing much of the achievement gap that typically exists.
…on average, charter students in Massachusetts gain an additional one and a half months of learning in reading over their TPS counterparts. In math, the advantage for charter students is about two and a half months of additional learning in one school year. Charter students in Boston gain an additional 12 months in reading and 13 months in math per school year compared to their TPS counterparts.
We examined the score results by student subgroups and find that [charter] gains are largest for minority students but smaller for white students. In middle school, gains are larger for students who score worse on their baseline exams. At both school levels, gains are particularly large for English language learners, though the sample in high school is too small for precise estimates…MCAS analysis leads to an interesting conclusion: those who are most likely to succeed in Boston charter schools are the least likely to enroll in them, especially in middle school …Like earlier studies, this report finds that attending a charter school in Boston dramatically improves students’ MCAS performance and proficiency rates. The largest gains appear to be for students of color and particularly large gains were found for English Language Learners.
Charters generate substantial gains for special needs students in math and English standardized exam scores, English proficiency, and college preparation outcomes. Even the most disadvantaged special needs students perform better in charter schools compared to traditional public schools.