Back-to-School Bulletin #3
Vol. 4, No. 38
September 17, 2002

        American children are back to school, and with the advent of this important ritual, CER is taking a close look at key issues facing education.

        This Week: Charter School Numbers Show Steady Growth - 393 new schools opened in 2002!

        Demonstrating continued growth, diversity and excitement in education reform the number of charter schools operating in the U.S. now stands at 2,700, an increase of approximately 14 percent from last year. The states of California, Arizona, Florida and Ohio saw the most new schools, while other states had few schools due to caps or political obstacles. Schools in Wyoming and Indiana are opening their doors for the first time this year. Only New Hampshire, Tennessee and Iowa have laws but no charter schools, a fact that leaders in each state hope to soon remedy. A state-by-state breakdown is available at Charter School Highlights and Statistics. These numbers may change, however, as the status of some schools have yet to be formally reported.

        CER's research and data efforts on behalf of charter schools yield an annual count of charter schools operating from state to state, and an extensive array of information regarding their operations. From that data, CER produces an annual directory, survey and assessment of progress. These analyses have yielded the following important data:

I. Approximately six percent of all charters ever opened have failed. This data comes from a new CER report to be released in October. CER has researched approximately 160 charter schools that have been closed due to some sort of failure on the part of charter schools. These reasons include: financial difficulties (the largest category), mismanagement, facilities-related problems, district-preferences, and an inability to meet student's academic needs. Approximately 200 schools were approved but never opened or were consolidated back into their district for a variety of reasons. Firm numbers and details will be available in the forthcoming report. (For more on the topic, see CER's paper Charter Closures: The Opportunity for Accountability.)

II. Survey data from 2002 among a quarter of all operating charter schools demonstrate measurable success among charters in meeting a variety of goals they set out to achieve.

* Charter serve overwhelmingly children underserved at both ends of the spectrum, from the at-risk student to the gifted and talented;

* Charter schools provide more instructional time to students;

* Charter schools provide smaller learning environments, with the average charter registering 242 students;

* And nearly 70 percent of charters have waiting lists.

        These and other conclusions are detailed in CER's annual survey, which will be released later this month. In the mean time, for the latest on charter schools, go to our page About Charter Schools. For more on charter numbers, see GROWTH IN CHARTER SCHOOLS REFLECTS INCREASING DEMANDS FOR CHOICES, September 17, 2002

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The CER Newswire may be redistributed in its entirety with proper attribution. The CER Newswire is published by The Center for Education Reform, the nation's leading authority on school reform. CER is dedicated to making schools better for America's children by improving educational access and excellence for all. CER works with parents, teachers and policymakers to advance meaningful education improvement initiatives.

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