BY EMMA FRANZ
When it comes to education, learning environments often vary. While some parents choose to enroll their children in the typical district public schools, others turn to charter schools. Charter schools are public schools that operate as a “school of choice,” meaning that they are exempt from significant local and state guidelines and anyone living anywhere in the school’s vicinity can apply to go. However, charter schools do not always guarantee a proper quality of education.
The soul purpose of a charter school is to improve student performance. For most students and their families, the supposedly-increased educational opportunities are what give charter schools their appeal. These charter schools claim to offer more of a variety of courses that will enhance a student’s educational experience.
In fact, the overall academic performance within charter schools is typically higher than those in district public schools.
According to the Florida Department of Education, “In 63 of the 77 comparisons, students enrolled in charter schools demonstrated higher rates of grade level performance than their peers in traditional public schools.”
However, charters often prove themselves to be ineffective by presenting skewed academic performance scores. This creates the illusion that charters provide a better quality of education.
“Charter schools can appear to outperform public schools when they don’t enroll the same types of students.”
The Network for Public Education
“Charter schools can appear to outperform public schools when they don’t enroll the same types of students,” The Network for Public Education said. “Because charters tend to serve far fewer students with disabilities and fewer who don’t speak English as their first language, they can appear to be higher performing.”
Unlike district public schools with a diverse population, charter schools select those students that they want to attend. This provides students who attend charters with an unfair advantage over those who attend public schools, ultimately leading higher charter school test scores.
One of the largest claims made by most charter schools is that the school’s acceptance is based on a lottery system to allow for diversity. Yet, charter schools are set to have a “cookie cutter” image and place limitations on everything, including diversity. Although anyone within the school’s district can technically apply, charter schools have the ability to select certain students to attend the school, creating a sense of enrollment preference.
“Charter schools nationally serve far fewer students with disabilities, zero percent to seven percent, and these are children with milder disabilities,” The Network for Public Education said. “The 2011 national average for public schools was 13 percent and the disabled students who do enroll in charter schools tend to have disabilities that are less severe and less costly to remediate than those of students in district schools.”
Although charter schools are substantially more ineffective than beneficial, there are select pros for attending. Charter schools provide those who struggle financially with a better alternative. Students who are not zoned for decent public schools can apply to attend a free, charter institution within their district. With that being said, charter schools largely impact disadvantaged students or those in urban areas.
Unfortunately, however, the increase in charter schools not only impairs those within the charter school system itself, but financially harms district public schools as well. When student enrollment decreases in public schools, so does the money earned. Funds that public schools receive is based on the number of students who attend school. When students leave the public district schools for charter schools, they end up lowering the financial value of the public school.
When students leave the public district schools for charter schools, they end up lowering the financial value of the public school.
“Researchers at Duke University studied several North Carolina communities that have experienced substantial charter growth in recent years,” the Florida Department of Education said. “The study concluded that, as a result of charter school growth, the local districts had between $300 and $700 less to spend on each remaining student at district-operated schools.”
Despite the ineffectiveness of the charter schools as a whole, they continue to increase rapidly.
“Since 1996, the number of charter schools in Florida has grown to over 655 in 2017 and 2018,” the Florida Department of Education said. “Charter school student enrollment now tops 295,000 students.”
All in all, the amount of charter schools continue to increase. Although they may seem as a better option for some students, this idea is often as a result of skewed results. Charter schools’ ineffectiveness continues to spread, providing an illusion of a “better” education.
Photo courtesy of Business Insider
