This document compares and contrasts charter schools and traditional public schools. It begins with background on the origins of the charter school movement and discusses some key differences between the two types of schools, such as governance structures and accountability measures. The document then examines arguments from both sides of the debate, with charter school proponents claiming benefits like innovation and competition, while critics argue charters have not shown clear academic advantages. It reviews research that has generally found no significant performance differences between the two types of schools on average. The document concludes by suggesting the charter experiment has not achieved its goals and funding would be better spent supporting traditional public schools.

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Charter Schools versus Public Schools
CIS 601
October 9, 2012

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Abstract
Twenty years ago, the charter school idea was put forth by education reformers
as a way to cure the failing public school system. The debate between charter schools
and traditional public schools has escalated,while most states have adopted charter
school legislation allowing for the creation of these schools. Now after years of study,
the evidence suggests that the promise of innovation, accountability, and increased
performance of all schools, charter and traditional public, through competition has not
been achieved.

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Charter Schoolsversus Public Schools
Introduction
One of the most significant and controversial developments in education in the
United States is the charter school movement (Weil,2000,p. 1). A group of progressives
and conservatives in Minnesota in 1991 came together to propose and pass the first
state charter school legislation (Lubienski & Weitzel, 2010, p. 1).By 1998, more than
1,100 charter schools were created and 250,000 students were being educated (Weil,
2000, p. 1).That number had grown to 3,000 charter schools in 37 states plus the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico by 2004 withan approximate enrollment of 750,000
students(NEA, 2012). Currently, there are 5,741 charter schools operating in 41 states
plus the District of Columbia. In the past decade, 2,000,000 students have been
educated (NCSI, 2012).
According to the U.S. Department of Education (2010), charter schools employ
an estimated 72,000 teachers. As the popularity of the charter school concept
continues to grow, so does the opportunity for teachers to choose in what type of
environment they would like to teach. Proponents claim charter schools will put an end
to an era of public school mediocrity that is filled with top heavy educational
bureaucracy and administration. Also, they assert that charter schools will foster
educational innovation, parent and student involvement, and raise educational
standards by providing competition amongst themselves and with public schools (Weil,
2000, 1).
Since the charter school versus public school battle is not going away in the near
future, new teachersneed to understandthe differences between these two types

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ofpublic education. And if you are considering teaching in Nevada, you should be
aware of the condition of charter schools in this state. Among the numerous issues
surrounding the debate of charter school versus public schools, the main claimsby
charter schoolsare that through innovation andaccountability charter school students will
achieve better educational performance than traditional public school students.
What is a charter school?
Charter schools are a non-religious, elementary or secondary schools operating
under a contract or “charter”. All the schools operational details like name, organization,
management and curriculum are set by the charter. Since charters schools are publicly
funded, they must have open enrollment, may not charge tuition, and must participate in
state and federal testing and accountability programs (O’Brien & Dervarics,2010).
However, they are free from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to
other public schools (NEA,2012). If the school does not meet the performance goals
set forth in its charter, the school’s charter may be revoked or not renewed.Each state
determines its owncharter legislation and defines which public entity,known as the
authorizer, issues the charter. The state determines what rules must be adhered to,
what rules may be waived, and what proceduresmust be followed to receive a charter
(NVDoE, 2012).
Although every state’s charter legislation is different, they all have the same
basic steps to creating a school.The first thing charter school developers must do is to
think about why they wish to start a school: the goals, the mission, the objectives and
how they will accomplish them.Next, they will need an organizing group with expertise in
curriculum and instruction, community relations and marketing, finance, management,

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school law, and a host of other functions. A plan will need to be drawn up with mission
and vision statements, curricula overview, daily operation and governance descriptions,
facility needs, and budgets.Approval for the school will then be granted or denied by
thestate’s charter school authorizing agency (Weil, 2000, pp. 86-90).
Charter schools are better than traditional public schools
Charter schools have been endorsed by both sides of the political spectrum.
President Barak Obama proclaimed May 6, 2012 – May 12, 2012 National Charter
School Week stating, “… charter schools demonstrate what is possible when States,
communities, teachers, parents, and students work together” (Obama, 2012). More
progressive politicians like President Obama, promote charter schools as a way to
create innovative community based learning centers (Weil,2000, p. 2). His opponent
Mitt Romney is also a supporter of charter schools. As Governor of Massachusetts,
when the 85% Democratic legislature passed a bill putting a moratorium on any new
charters, he vetoed the bill (Romney,2012). Conservatives, like Romney, admire the
charter idea as a way to avoid oppressive government regulation and operate with the
notion of competition and choice (Weil,2000, p. 2). Arguments in favor of charter
schools all stem from the ever increasing frustration of parents, students, and teachers
combined with the public perception of a failing educational system. Proponents believe
charter schools based on a combinationof innovation, instructional and managerial,
accountability and market pressure will result in a higher quality of educationfor
students(Bulkley, 2012, p. 59).
While charter schools are publicly funded and generally bound by state rules on
academic and testing standards, curricula and pedagogy may differ from traditional

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public schools. School founders, families of students attending the school, and private
funding interests all have influence determining instructional approaches. This creates
a diverse selection of charter schools whose emphasis may include, but not be limited
to, foreign language, technology, art or college preparation (Vergari, 2007, p. 19).
A notable difference in the charter school versus public school debate is that
many charter schools are associated with outside organizations which either manage or
provide support to the schools (Bulkley,2012, p. 60). New players in the public
education arena are attracted to meet the resource needs of these schools. This results
in partnerships with community, for-profit, and faith-based organizations (Lubienski &
Weitzel, 2010, p. 148).
Charter school administration implements a site-based decision making model
rather than the bureaucratic school board and school district model. In most states, a
charter school board may hire an outside company to operate a school,while some
states’ laws regulate membership on the charter school board (Vergari, 2007 p. 19).
Charter schools claim to operate under higher levels of scrutiny; therefore,
asserting enhanced accountability. Public accountingis derived from the charter itself.
The school’s charter describes the academic results the school expects to achieve
during the term of its charter. When the contract term is up, the school’s authorizing
agency reviews its progress according to the standards specified in the charter as well
as accompanying state standards. If a school fails to meet the terms of its contract then
the authorizing agency is presumedto cancel or not renew the contract. Along with
student performance, the authorizing agency also evaluates the schools performance

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based on the management and fiscal policy terms stated in its charter (Weil, 2000, p.
71).
Charter school advocates argue real accountability is created by competition
between the schools. They say parents who know what’s best for their children will
choose schools that function properly. Also, the charter schools must continually attract
and retain parents and students to preserve their funding and devotees believe that
parental choice will lead to low demand for weak schools (Bulkley, 2012, p. 61).
Accountability applies to teachers and administrators as well. They stand to
benefit when a school is successful by keeping their jobs and working free from
excessive regulation. Should the school perform poorly, they risk losing their jobs and
possibly their reputations (Hill & Lake, 2002, p. 7).
Charter schools are no better than traditional public schools
The innovation touted by charters schools appears to extend only as far as state
level educational policy. Beyond that research has shown that charter schools are not
much different than traditional public school in the classroom. The new and different
instructional practices, which advocates conjectured would be developed, have failed to
come to fruition. Many charter schools have embraced basic curricular and pedagogical
practices(Lubienski & Weitzel, 2010, p. 23).
Traditional public school proponents criticize the charter school methods of
accountability. They are concerned that charter school authorizers will be too lenient in
allowing incompetent groups to obtain charters and continue to fund low performing
schools (Hill & Lake, 2002, p. 10). These concerns appear to be substantiated as few
charter schools have been closed because of poor academic performance. Most charter

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school closures have occurred due to financial mismanagement or low enrollment
(Heaggans,2006, p. 435).
In her book, Where Charter School Policy Fails, Wells (2002) finds that charter
school proposals tend to be vague on accountability standards. It is also more difficult
for authorizing agenciesto cancel charters of politically popular schools. And, evidence
now shows that the vision of charter schools and their autonomy-for-accounting tradeoff
never occurred (p. 12).
According to Sandra Vergari (2007), teacher certification rates, experience, and
salaries in charters schools lag those of teachers in traditional public schools (p. 25).
Charter school teachers are less likely to hold a master’s degree and more likely to
teach out of their subject area(Lubienski & Weitzel, 2010, p. 89, 127).Also, charter
schools have a teacher and administrator attrition rate of 15% - 30% which leads to
instability in these types of schools (Lubienski & Weitzel, 2010, p. 89).
The pro public school contingent will also argue that charter schools do
irreparable financial harm to public schools. Public schools wind up with fewer dollars
to spend on education because money is diverted to charter schools. This reduction in
funding will likely lead to worse academic performance and will strengthen the charter
school case (Heaggans,2006, p. 434).
Another charge against charter school is their lack of stability. Of the 3000
charter schools in operation in 2004, more-than one-third had been around for three
years or less, while more than 400 charter schools had ceased operation between 1991
and 2004(NEA, 2004).

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Charter school versus public school performance
As a group, charter schools have not performed better than public schools. In
2004, the National Assessment Governing Board released an analysis of charter school
performance on The Nation’s Report Card for 2003. It concluded that charter school
students on average, scored lower than students in traditional public schools
(NEA,2004). According to the National Alliance for Public Charter School, 38.8% of
charters did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind in 2007-
2008. This is comparable to traditional public school results (Bulkley,2012, p. 62). A
2009 study, by the Center of Research on Educational Outcomes at Stanford University,
found that only 17% of charter schools provided superior educational opportunities for
their students, nearly half of the charter schools nationwide have results that are no
different from the local public school options and 37% delivered learning results that are
significantly worse than their students would have realized had they remained in
traditional public schools (CREDO, 2009).
Charter Schools in Nevada
In 1997, Nevada passed its first charter school legislation (NRS 386.490 –
386.610 inclusive). The intention of the legislature is to provide:
The board of trustees of school districts with a method to experiment with
providing a variety of independent public schools to the pupils of this state; A
framework for such experimentation; A mechanism by which the results achieved
by charter schools may be measured and analyzed; and a procedure by which
the positive results achieved by charter schools may be replicated and the
negative results may be identified and eliminated. Local school districts and the

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newly created State Public Charter School Authority act as state the authorizing
agency for the approval or disapproval of new charters (NVDOE,2012).
Nevada also requires that charter school populations must not differ by more
than 10% from the racial composition of the students who attend public school in the
zone in which the charter is located (Lubienski & Weitzel, 2010, p. 47).According to
state policy, for-profit organizations are prohibited from applying to open a charter
school (Lubienski & Weitzel, 2010, p. 159). And, charter school involvement with faith
based organizations is prohibited (Lubienski & Weitzel, 2010, p. 164). There is no cap
on the number of charter schools permitted to operate under state law.
Currently, Nevada has 32charter schools. And since 2000, 11 charters schools
have closed (NVDOE, 2012).The Clark County School District sponsors seven charter
schools. According to the 2011-2012 District Accountability Report, these schools have
shown mixed performance results (CCSD, 2012, pp. 121-121).
Conclusion
For twenty years, the battle over charter school versus traditional public school
has been waged. Traditional public school proponents’ contend that the public school
system is doing its best within the constraints of it resources and with more resources
achievement would improve. Education reformers emphasize that charter schools are
more effective and efficient than traditional public schools and because their charters
must be renewed, they are more accountable (Vergari, 2007, p. 22).
No two charter schools are alike and some even function quite well. But based
on the average performance of the entire group, charter schools don’t appear to be
delivering on their proponents’ promises. Evidence suggests that charter school

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students are not outperforming their traditional public school peers and in many cases
are doing worse. Therefore, charter schools aren’t creating the competitive educational
system that was originally envisioned.
Since charter schools outcomes don’t show any marked improvement from
traditional public school and they are funded from the same source of money, I believe it
is time for the charter school experiment to end. The money spent on charter schools
should be diverted back to traditional public schools. The notable charter school
innovationssuch as the public-private partnership should be promoted and applied
throughout the entire public school system. Managerial improvements derived from the
site based decision modelshould be incorporated into the traditional system. Also, state
policy educational frameworks should be rewritten to foster the reforms gained through
charter school legislation.
While charter school performance varies from school to school, asa perspective
teacher I would be very skeptical of the claims made by charter school advocates and
administration. Evidence has shown that charter school salaries are less than
traditional public school. Because they are paid less, charter school teachers are
generally less educated and experienced than those who teach in traditional public
schools and are more frequently required to teach out of their subject area.As a whole,
charter school teachers do not enjoy the stability of traditional public school teachers.

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References
2011-2012 district accountability summary report. (2012). Las Vegas, NV: Clark County
School District.
Bulkley, K. A. (2012). Charter schools...taking a closer look. Education Digest, 77(5),
September 4, 2012-58-62.
Charter schools. (2012). Retrieved September 7, 2012, from
http://www.nea.org/home/16322.htm
Digest of Education Statistics. (2010). Retrieved October 1, 2012 from
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/sigest/d10/tables/dt10_15.asp.
Heaggans, R. C. (2006). Unpacking charter schools: A knapsack filled with a few
broken promises. Education, 126(3), 431-436.
Hill, P. T., Lake, R. J., & with Celio, M. B. (2002). Charter schools and accountability in
public education. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution.
The impact of charter schools. (2012). Retrieved September 7, 2012, from
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expectations, evidence, and implications. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard
Education Press.
Multiple Choice: Charter Performance in 16 States Executive Summary. (2009).
Retrieved from on September 10, 2012 Center of Research on Education
Outcomes website:
http://credo.stanford.edu/reports/multiple_choice_executive%20summary.pdf.

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Weil, D. (2000). Charter schools: A reference book. Santa Barbara, California:
ABC-CLIO, Inc.
Wells, A. S. (Ed.). (2002). Where charter school policy fails. New York, NY: Teachers
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