By Margaret Grigsby
WSLS 10
March 17, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSLS 10) – According to a new ranking of charter schools across the country, Virginia ranked next-to-last of the 42 states and the District of Columbia that have charter school laws.
Of the 43 on the list, only one-third earned above-average scores for implementing a strong policy environment according to the 16th edition of Charter School Laws Across the States 2015: Rankings and Scorecard released by The Center for Education Reform (CER).
Only four states and D.C. earned As, with D.C. holding on to number one for seven years in a row. Eight states earned Bs, 19 Cs, and 11 earned Ds or Fs.
Thirteen states saw changes to their ranking since last year.
Since 1996, CER has studied and evaluated charter school laws based on their construction and implementation, and whether or not they yield the intended result of the charter school policy, which is to ensure the creation of numerous quality learning opportunities for children.