This is the second in a series of posts on published academic research supporting the assertion that Massachusetts public charter schools perform as well or better than the traditional public schools in our state.
In the first post, I cited a Boston Foundation sponsored study that did a remarkably effective job isolating the demographic differences between the enrollments of Boston charter and traditional public schools and confirming that those differences do not explain the performance gap we see on standardized test scores.
In this post I’d like to zoom in on what the research says about three demographics groups — English Language Learners (ELLs), Special Education students (SPED), and ethnic minorities — that historically perform less well in all kinds of public schools. Charters are often accused of not serving or even wanting these students. I’ll cut to the chase by saying not only does the academic research prove this to be an utterly false claim, that same research demonstrates beyond a doubt that MA’s public charters do some of their best work with ELL, SPED, and minority students.
To demonstrate how well MA charters do with these kids I will quote from two studies. The first is the second edition of the same Boston Foundation study cited in my earlier post. In addition to its central finding about demographic make up its research team confirmed that the performance gap observed between charter and traditional public school students is larger for both ELL and minority students. Here’s what they said (emphasis added):
We examined the score results by student subgroups and find that [charter] gains are largest for minority students but smaller for white students. In middle school, gains are larger for students who score worse on their baseline exams. At both school levels, gains are particularly large for English language learners, though the sample in high school is too small for precise estimates…MCAS analysis leads to an interesting conclusion: those who are most likely to succeed in Boston charter schools are the least likely to enroll in them, especially in middle school …Like earlier studies, this report finds that attending a charter school in Boston dramatically improves students’ MCAS performance and proficiency rates. The largest gains appear to be for students of color and particularly large gains were found for English Language Learners.“
There’s not much doubt what these researchers think they data says.
The second study I’ll quote today is one I cited in an earlier blog entry, but it’s so compelling it bears repeating here. It’s from The School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative research program of MIT Department of Economics. This past December one of their researchers, Elizabeth Setren, published a discussion paper titled “Special Education and English Language Learner Students in Boston Charter Schools: Impact and Classification.” Below is a passage pulled straight from the conclusion beginning on page 17 of the report (again, emphasis added).
Using randomized admission lotteries, this paper finds strong positive effects of Boston’s elementary, middle, and high schools for special education and ELL students. Charters generate substantial gains for special needs students in math and English standardized exam scores, English proficiency, and college preparation outcomes. Even the most disadvantaged special needs students perform better in charter schools compared to traditional public schools.
Lower enrollment rates of special needs students in charters compared to district schools have led to the common perception that charters underserve special education and ELL students. For example, the Boston Globe Editorial Board writes that charters “fall short” with “special education students and those who speak only limited English” (2015). The Massachusetts Teachers Association circulates materials “about how charters exclude English language learners [and] special needs students…”, citing overall enrollment statistics (2015).
This paper debunks these perceptions. It documents that special needs students are now proportionally represented in charter lotteries. Even those with the highest need are close to proportional representation in charter lotteries. Furthermore, charters remove special needs classifications at a higher rate than traditional public schools and move special education students to more inclusive classrooms.
These differences in classification practices make the proportion of special needs students in charters appear smaller.
Also, charter attendance substantially decreases the special needs achievement gap. Among students attending BPS schools, special education students and ELL students score about 0.87 and 0.39 standard deviations respectively below non-special needs students in math. Since charters generate math gains of 0.266 standard deviations for special education students, one year in a charter reduces the special education achievement gaps by 30.5 percent. ELL students score 0.345 standard deviations higher in charters, narrowing the ELL achievement gap by 88.0 percent.
Please keep these findings in mind the next time you read or hear an anti-charter advocated going on about how our state’s public charter schools “want and take only the best students!” IMO, such claims are without merit and, as you see above, easily proven false.
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