In the early 1990s, the State of Minnesota passed the country’s first charter school law, and since then, charter schools have surfaced throughout the nation.

1. The Performance
of Charter Schools
in the U.S.
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2. In the early 1990s, the State of Minnesota passed the country’s first charter
school law, and since then, charter schools have surfaced throughout the
nation. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools cites that there are over
6,700 charter schools that work towards the education of about 3 million
students.
What Are Charter Schools?
Charter schools are somewhat similar to a public school, with a special charter
from the state government. A charter is a written set of rules and regulations
that provide rights to an individual or a handful of people.
Like public schools, these schools aren’t supposed to require students to pay for
their tuition, nor do these schools have the power to set admission
requirements. In the event that the number of applicants seeking admission is
more than what the school can allocate, a lottery system will take place to
determine who gets to be admitted.

3. What differentiates a charter school from the public school system is the
flexibility in the classes and programs that they provide students. Also, charter
schools do away with the rules that public schools subscribe to. Jon Valant, an
education expert from a public policy organization, states that the growth of
charter schools is due to the dissatisfaction with the public school system.
How Are Charter Schools Doing?
Researchers at Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education
Outcomes (CREDO) report on the effect of charter schools in more than 40
urban areas. Using a research design that compares the learning acquired by
students in charter schools with the learning of similar students in public
schools, the study shows how charter schools are performing.

4. Throughout the 40 cities that serve as part of the research, students currently
enrolled in charter schools showed a more substantial learning than the
students attending public schools. Qualitatively, these students know 40 more
days worth of math and 28 days more of reading and comprehension.
While the research does not readily guarantee that charter schools are better
than traditional public schools, the results qualify the impact these 40 charter
schools have on the education sector.
Resources:
http://www.cityacademyslc.org
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/2015/03/19/new-study-
shows-charter-schools-making-a-difference-in-cities
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/education-report-what-is-a-charter-
school/3615966.html