Charter schools can be worse option for students

TO THE EDITOR:

In response to “A Charter for Success,” (Jan. 22), one need only quote U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, creator of Race to the Top: “I’ve been really clear I’m not a fan of charter schools. I’m a fan of good charter schools.”

North Carolina’s charter school program has shown increases in the black-white achievement gap and racial segregation, often beyond the acceptable limits set by court-ordered desegregation.

After enrolling in a charter school, some students tend to make lower achievement gains than they had previously.

I encourage the state legislature to consider carefully the benefits and costs of pursuing Race to the Top funds.

Expanding the largely unregulated program, without increasing quality and accountability, bears real risks.

The less examined but perhaps more important section of Race to the Top is the issue of charter school standards.

School choice is rendered worthless when the choice is only between bad and worse.

Though increased school options allow parents to choose schools with strong standardized test scores or highly qualified teachers, research suggests that the increase in school autonomy that charter schools demand can intensify, not remedy, the problems of low student achievement.

As Secretary Duncan has stated, “This is not let a thousand flowers bloom. There should be a very high bar to entry. The chance to educate children, I think, is a sacred obligation.”



Grayson Cooper
Vice President
Policy Research
Roosevelt Institute at UNC