Reserch
Trends and Issues in Education: The Charter School System
Ashley Caggiano
Strayer University of Nashville
Dr. Herdon
Contemporary Issues in Education: Edu. 505
August 12, 2011
1. Summary and Commentary
Article 1
Horn, J. (2011, January 16). Charter Schools: What Would Dr. King Say?. Retrieved on August
11, 2011, from http://www.miller-muccune.com/education/charter-schools-what-would-dr-king-say-26976/ The first article that I chose to review is called Charter Schools: What Would Dr. King Say? The title of the article suggests that it discusses diversity and segregation within the charter school system. It is argued that charter schools are more “segregated” than public schools. According to the author James Horn, “In statewide comparisons, the charter were 20 percent more segregated than the public schools, and in the more localized comparisons, the charters were 18 percent more segregated than neighboring publics” (p. 1). Claims are made that this statistic is leading back to the days of separate but equal and making it ok for segregation to happen. The authors makes a point by suggesting is this “segregation” all that bad if the schools are meeting the expectations academically? He refers to the largest study conducted on charter schools.
“The largest of the studies conducted by Stanford’s CREDO group included a longitudinal and peer-reviewed examination of 70 percent of the nation’s charter schools in 15 states and Washington D.C. The study found that only 17 percent of charters do better than matched public schools, 46 percent show no significant differences in performance, and 37 percent do worse than matched public peers” (p. 2).
The evidence points in the direction that charter schools on paper are really no better than public schools. The author points out that many charter schools have lost their soul and spirit. In the past they were creative and innovative run by people wanting to make a difference, and today many are run by
Ashley Caggiano
Strayer University of Nashville
Dr. Herdon
Contemporary Issues in Education: Edu. 505
August 12, 2011
1. Summary and Commentary
Article 1
Horn, J. (2011, January 16). Charter Schools: What Would Dr. King Say?. Retrieved on August
11, 2011, from http://www.miller-muccune.com/education/charter-schools-what-would-dr-king-say-26976/ The first article that I chose to review is called Charter Schools: What Would Dr. King Say? The title of the article suggests that it discusses diversity and segregation within the charter school system. It is argued that charter schools are more “segregated” than public schools. According to the author James Horn, “In statewide comparisons, the charter were 20 percent more segregated than the public schools, and in the more localized comparisons, the charters were 18 percent more segregated than neighboring publics” (p. 1). Claims are made that this statistic is leading back to the days of separate but equal and making it ok for segregation to happen. The authors makes a point by suggesting is this “segregation” all that bad if the schools are meeting the expectations academically? He refers to the largest study conducted on charter schools.
“The largest of the studies conducted by Stanford’s CREDO group included a longitudinal and peer-reviewed examination of 70 percent of the nation’s charter schools in 15 states and Washington D.C. The study found that only 17 percent of charters do better than matched public schools, 46 percent show no significant differences in performance, and 37 percent do worse than matched public peers” (p. 2).
The evidence points in the direction that charter schools on paper are really no better than public schools. The author points out that many charter schools have lost their soul and spirit. In the past they were creative and innovative run by people wanting to make a difference, and today many are run by
References: Dobbs, M. (2004, December 15). Charter vs. Traditional, Washington Post. Retrieved on August 11, 2011, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64713- Gaberial, T. (2010, May 1). Despite Push, Success at Charter Schools is Mixed, New York Times. Retrieved on August 11, 2011, from, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05 Horn, J. (2011, January 16). Charter Schools: What Would Dr. King Say?. Retrieved on August 11, 2011, from http://www.miller-muccune.com/education/charter-schools-what-would-dr-king-say-26976/ No Child Left Behind, New evidence that charter schools help even kids in other schools. (2009, November 4) Sadler, D. M., & Zittleman, K. R. (2010). Teachers, Schools and Society. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.