November 2008: Education Updates
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Political Landscape section is a collection of news items, updates, and essays on policy issues, state and federal legislation, academic standards, testing issues, the politics of funding, and other issues.
Charter Schools Updates
OEA Releases Reports on Charter Schools
The Ohio Education Association (OEA) has posted on its website the following reports on charter schools in Ohio by research consultant Andy Jewell:
Ohio Charter School Summary Data, September 2008. This report provides an overview of charter schools in Ohio, including information about academic performance, enrollment, and funding. It also breaks out information about "for profit charter schools", which enroll over half of charter school students in Ohio, and home-based internet charter schools.
A Longitudinal Analysis Comparing the Academic Performance of Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools in Ohio, September 2008. This report compares proficiency levels of charter schools to those of traditional public schools over a 7-year period based on the results of reading and math tests for the 4th, 6th, and 10th grades and science tests in 10th grade. A methodology was developed that considers both absolute proficiency levels and changes in rates of proficiency over a 7-year period for students on state assessments. The results using this method were then narrowed to the big eight urban areas, and charter schools were matched with traditional public school buildings, controlling for student and school effects.
According to the report, “This study finds that, when controlling for student and school effects, charter schools are outperformed by traditional schools both in terms of pass rates and with respect to changes in proficiency levels. These findings hold true whether the comparisons are made on a statewide level or if the assessments are limited to large urban school districts or to matched schools within those districts.”
The Effect of Charter School Competition on Student Achievement in Ohio, October 2008. This report examines the belief that competition with charter schools for students will improve traditional public schools. A model was developed that compares the annual change in the portion of district students testing proficient on state achievement tests over 5 years to the charter school market share. This model also controls for socioeconomic differences, district-level variations, and changes over time.
According to the report, “For each of the six tests that were analyzed, the percentage of traditional school district students who attend charter schools is found to be significantly and negatively related to changes in pass rates. All things being equal, for every one percentage-point increase in charter school market share, proficiency levels decrease by a range of one-fifth to one-half percentage points. At each grade level, the negative impact associated with charter school competition is greater in math than in reading.”
The report also offers some reasons for these findings: (1) As enrollment in charter schools has increased, the number of teachers in traditional public schools has declined, and class size has increased; (2) As the enrollment in charter schools has increased, the number of students in traditional public schools with special needs has increased by 1.7 percent; the number of economically disadvantaged students has increased by 16.0 percent; the number of students learning English has increased by 27.2 percent; and the mobility rate for students has increased.
Excel Tool: Charter School Impact and Academic Performance. Three Excel spreadsheets provide information about the number of students leaving traditional public school districts and the academic rating of the charter schools they are now attending. Information about pupil costs is also provided. According to this report, for the 2007-2008 school year, all but three of the state’s 600-plus public school districts lost students to charter schools.
The following is the statewide impact:
- State ADM: 1,784,024.48
- District students to charter schools: 82,263.73
- Number of charter schools: 324
- District funding to charter schools: $581,475,026
- Funding per charter school student: $7,068
Charter School Ratings |
Schools |
Students |
Funding |
|---|---|---|---|
Distinction A+ |
1 |
436 |
$2,562,407 |
Excellent A |
8 |
1,517 |
$12,091,219 |
Effective B |
18 |
4,784 |
$34,778,206 |
Improvement C |
64 |
22,872 |
$148,605,418 |
Watch D |
59 |
25,448 |
$172,712,457 |
Emergency F |
104 |
22,196 |
$171,834,000 |
Total 2 |
254 |
77,252 |
$542,583,707 |
The sum of the schools, students and funding of academically rated charter schools will not necessarily equal the reported totals. This is because not all charter schools receive an academic rating.
Students and funding transferred to higher rated charter schools:
Schools 3.7 percent; Students 12.5 percent; Funding 12.7 percent
These reports are available on the OEA website.
Charter School Lawsuit Dismissed
A lawsuit filed by former Attorney General Marc Dann on September 12, 2007 against the New Choices Community School (Englewood) was dismissed on September 29, 2008 by Judge Michael Tucker of the Court of Common Pleas Montgomery County. The lawsuit was filed under the charitable trust law and alleged that the community school failed to meet its responsibilities as a “charitable trust” to educate students under Ohio law, and therefore should forfeit its state funds to operate. Judge Tucker ruled, however, that the school was not a charitable trust, but a political subdivision of the state, and the attorney general had no authority to file the lawsuit. Current Attorney General Nancy Rogers has until October 27, 2008 to appeal this decision. Motions to dismiss two similar lawsuits filed against Harmony Community School (Hamilton County) and Moraine Community School are pending (Montgomery County). A lawsuit was also filed against the Colin Powell Leadership Academy, but that school closed. Recently State Auditor, Mary Taylor, issued a finding for the Harmony Community School to repay over $2 million in funds due to lack of documentation, attendance irregularities, and improper use of federal funds.
The 126th Ohio General Assembly approved through HB 79 a mechanism to close low performing charter schools starting in July 1, 2008. This method is based on value-added data, performance measures, and state designations (ratings). It does not apply to certain dropout recovery charter schools that have obtained a waiver from the ODE. Charter schools that are in academic emergency for 3 years (or 4 depending on the grade levels in the school), and have not shown progress (determined by the SBE) in math and reading in 2 out of 3 years, are required to close at the end of the school year.
Currently two community schools, the Toledo Academy of Learning and the Summit Academy Community School for Alternative Learners of Youngstown, are candidates for closure in 2009.
Read more about charter schools in the December 2008 update.
