Equity As a Measurement of Success in Charter Schools

America is in the midst of a contentious debate over whether charter schools are an effective institutional remedy for closing the education gap. The divisive nature of the issue tends to push policymakers, educators, and parents to extremes; observers and stakeholders often fail to acknowledge the unique regional and local complexities associated with the administration and organization of various charter school systems.

Authors Helen F. Ladd and Edward B. Fiske provide unique insight into the intricacies of charter school issues—in particular, by focusing on successful practices implemented in the state of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts model is worth scrutinizing because the state has put in place an authorization and review system that assesses the educational impact of charter schools every five years. The review system relies on periodic site visits to ensure that charter schools, which operate independently of state level educational requirements, are delivering high-quality education to students. The idea is that if charter schools decrease student enrollment in public schools, they must be impactful enough to justify their existence.

Ladd and Fiske argue that this systematic review process provides the charter school system with a necessary level of accountability. They offer five reasons for why this is so important:

First, charter schools are schools of choice, which means that families need full and reliable information to make good decisions about them. Second, charter schools are typically operated by non-governmental organizations, some of which may have motives and priorities that run counter to the public interest and, in particular, to the needs of certain kinds of students. Third, charter schools enjoy greater autonomy than regular public schools.  Fourth, many charter schools have unique missions and are experimental by design. Finally, charter schools do not operate in a vacuum.

This kind of perspective on charter school accountability is also relevant in the context of national-level discussions of public school administration; unequal access to quality public school education is a primary contributor to the growing wealth and opportunity gap. When public education systems fail students from marginalized communities and minority populations, charter schools are naturally seen as a viable alternative for improving outcomes. It is therefore imperative that we ensure that charter schools are doing what they are supposed to do. This requires a strong and comprehensive accountability model with an asset-based approach. If Massachusetts’s accountability practices prove to be successful, they have the potential to serve as an example of how other school systems can ensure equity and success.

The Massachusetts authorizers assess charter schools holistically. This includes a specific focus on the equitable treatment of students, measured by analyzing: the quality of support and instruction, the safety of the school environment, suspension rates, and student test scores. Ladd and Fiske underscore that the idea behind these assessment reports is to provide feedback to improve the overall effectiveness of the school in achieving equity for its students. If a charter school is underperforming in one of these areas, it directly affects the success of students, as each component contributes to student achievement. If a student feels unsafe at school, for example, or if an abnormal number of students are suspended, students lose out on fundamental parts of their education.

Utilizing the site visit data available for the above mentioned metrics, Ladd and Fiske synthesized a report on overall Massachusetts charter school equity from the years FY16-FY19—though, it should be noted, they did not include student test score metrics. In this report, the authors found that based on 73 schools visited, 43% of the school ratings given did not meet the standard for quality support. This was due in large part to a lack of English as a Second Language (ESL) curricula and staff. In the same 3-year period, of the 31 schools scrutinized for instructional quality, 66% fell short of state-level expectations, largely because of poor classroom management and student behavioral disruptions. These numbers show clear room for improvement.

The school environment safety indicator focused particularly on whether the school and classroom environments were “safe, supportive, and culturally responsive … and whether the school has formal procedures to support students in crisis or at risk of dropping out.” (Ladd 2021). In order to understand the efficacy of this safety metric, Ladd and Fiske analyzed 20 Massachusetts Charter Schools visited in FY19 (the only year for which comprehensive data was available, as the metric had been changed). On the whole, Massachusetts Charter Schools fell short of the expectations associated with the these criteria;  75% of schools subject to site visits satisfied the established standard. Those which fell short of the standard did so primarily with respect to student discipline (demerits, detentions, etc.); the underperforming schools were seen as placing a higher emphasis on punishment for minor infractions and lower-level disciplinary issues. However, the relatively low number of schools falling short of standards is a promising trend, as over-discipline is generally considered common in charter schools. The authors attribute this improvement to the adoption of a more diverse set of learning strategies for students and integrating restorative justice practices into disciplinary policies.

Finally, Ladd and Fiske report on the 2019 suspension rates in Massachusetts charter schools. Measuring the true consequences of student suspensions is difficult, as authorizers did not begin measuring rates of suspension at charter schools until 2019. However, as suspension information was gradually gathered, “many charter schools were called out for having very high out-of-school suspension rates, especially for many of their disadvantaged students” (Ladd, 2021). Overall, the researchers conclude that Massachusetts charter schools are performing sufficiently in terms of fairness and equity, though there is still serious room for improvement. They cite the presence of equity-oriented accountability standards as an integral factor in a school’s ability to make progress.

The diligence and cadence with which these site reports and analyses are conducted should serve as a guide for other cities that struggle with efforts to ensure charter school equity and accountability standards. Though some of these schools fail to meet standards, Ladd and Fiske argue that the use of intentional evaluations that center equity-forward metrics provides what some charter schools may be lacking: a clear path to improving positive outcomes.

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Ladd, Helen F and Fisk, Edward B. “Charter schools and equity: The power of accountability.” Phi Delta Kappan, (August 23,2021). https://kappanonline.org/charter-schools-equity-power-accountability-massachusetts-ladd-fiske/