WASHINGTON, DC (January 24, 2017) — A new report, released just in time for National School Choice Week, from the Center for Education Reform offers a history of the 25-year-old charter school movement while addressing the myths that exist about the national charter school landscape. Just the Facts: Success, Innovation, and Opportunity in Charter Schools debunks charter school misinformation with the most valid and reliable data to date.
“Charter schools are one of the most significant and proven education reforms to date, serving nearly 3 million students in almost 7,000 schools in 43 states and the District of Columbia,” said CER Founder and CEO Jeanne Allen. “Yet despite their proven success, many opponents across the nation continue to advance myths about charter schools at the expense of kids.”
Just the Facts addresses the most pervasive and unjustified myths:
- Charter schools are unaccountable and represent the “privatization” of education.
- Successful charter schools are only successful because they “cream” the most able students, those who are white, wealthy and do not have special needs.
- Charter schools produce “mixed” academic results, or academic results that are worse than traditional public schools.
- Charter schools are “killing” public education because they drain school districts of funding.
“Advocates of public charter schools must denounce these myths, demand only the most rigorous research be considered in decisions that affect charter school policies, and should fight to protect charter schools from unnecessary regulation,” continued Allen. “Just the Facts arms advocates with data and talking points they need to insist that charter schools remain innovative forces of educational opportunity in their states, districts, communities and beyond.”