November 1, 2023 Pathbreaking Report Finds Charter Schools Provide Better ROI

WASHINGTON, DC – A new study finds that “charter schools tend to demonstrate greater efficiency on both metrics of cost-effectiveness and return on investment, using fewer dollars to achieve better outcomes, relative to traditional public schools.”

The pathbreaking report from the University of Arkansas’ Department of Education Reform, Still a Good Investment: Charter School Productivity in Nine Cities, also finds that charter schools earn higher NAEP scores for every $1,000 spent, and that the lifetime earnings of charter students is double those in traditional public schools.

“The reason this is so valuable is because on a daily basis people discount the importance of charter schools,” says Jeanne Allen, Founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform (CER). “But it turns out when public schools have freedom and flexibility to do their work, are not hamstrung by traditional rules and regulations, and parents have these choices, students thrive. It’s no surprise that students who attend public charter schools in cities like Indianapolis and Washington DC, despite receiving much less funding, achieve at a rate that is two to three times higher than their traditional public school counterparts.”

The University of Arkansas studied nine cities which are representative of the charter school movement at large, including Camden, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Memphis, New Orleans, New York City, San Antonio, and Washington, DC. The results reinforce that charter school laws have an impact on charter outcomes.  According to the Annual Charter School Law Rankings and Scorecard developed and published by CER annually, states with strong charter school laws that ensure funds follow students and that charter schools have autonomy do indeed perform better. Most of the cities studied in the report are in strong law states.

The full University of Arkansas report is available here.Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.

The $1 million Yass Prize, powered by the Center for Education Reform in partnership with Forbes, is a rapidly growing effort to find, reward, celebrate and expand best-in-class education organizations for every sector. In conjunction with the $1 million Yass Prize, the STOP Awards initiative will distribute nearly $20 million in 2023. Learn more at YassPrize.org and vote on the new Parents Choice Award, created to give parents all over the country an opportunity to choose their favorite education innovator of the year. The Yass Prize Semifinalists with the most votes will be granted $100,000, in addition to their $200,000 award, to help transform education for more students.