CER Opinion and Analysis

GET THE FACTS ON D.C. CHARTER SCHOOLS
By Jeanne Allen
Letter to the Editor submitted to The Washington Post, June 19, 2003

        The Washington Post news article about the District's charter schools (Quality Uneven, Despite Popularity 6/19/03) makes definitive statements about their quality. One would expect evidence to support those statements but that is not the case. Rather, personal judgment (visits to 39 schools and interviews) and a fixed snapshot of 2002 test scores are used to declare quality uneven and no better than "regular public schools." There is even a researcher's statement that uses the word "probably" to describe the so-called condition of charter schools. 

        Educating the hardest to educate children is difficult enough without superficial and biased scrutiny that offers little factual context. Every child and every school is different. Unlike "regular" public schools, charters do not have several decades of history from which to make conclusions. Charters have not yet been formally evaluated as to their progress in advancing the education of the least educated District children, who come from the regular public schools. Until data provides meaningful comparisons for the public, caution is needed when reading such commentary. In the meantime, parents - the child's first teacher-have spoken loudly, enrolling more than 15% of their children in charters. That voting with their feet ought to count for something.

Click here for more information on charter schools in Washington, D.C.

# # #

CER Home Page In the News  CER Opeds E-Mail CER