Charter Advocate objects to Charters comparison to Public Schools

Privatizing public schools under state charters will stimulate competition and create better schools where traditionally disadvantaged students will thrive. Freed from the evil teacher's unions, and so-called "educrats," innovation will reign and excuses for poor student achievement will fall away.

That's the dream of many who believe free market principles will solve real human problems.

But it's only a dream.

In reality, the performance of charter schools is no better than public schools. In Ohio, they are apparently worse. More than 100 of Ohio's 277 charter schools rated in academic "emergency" by state.

And when the going gets tough - the advocates make excuses.

This from the Toledo Blade:

Charter school report cards:

2 area academies shine; 14 others come up short

State accolades proving elusive, figures indicate

Charter schools across Ohio, including the Toledo area, continue to struggle to do well on the state report cards, according to the state Department of Education.

Statewide, 102 charter schools were rated as being in academic emergency, the equivalent of a grade of F, including 14 that failed in northwest Ohio.

Eight charter schools in Ohio were rated excellent, two of them in Toledo - Toledo School for the Arts, which participates in the standard assessment, and M.O.D.E.L. Community School, which teaches autistic children who take an alternative assessment.

But comparing charter schools to public schools is not apples to apples because charter schools have different purposes, said Ron Adler, president of the Ohio Coalition for Quality Education, a charter school advocacy group with 15 Toledo-area charter schools as members.

He said charter schools can be dropout recovery schools or serve children with special needs, and that they vary widely depending on their mission.

"They want to have one set of uniform tests for everyone, but not all students are
alike," he said. Of the 277 charter schools listed in the state report cards, 102 were rated in academic emergency, 56 were in academic watch, 61 were in continuous improvement, 18 were effective, eight were excellent, and one was excellent with distinction...

Thanks to Brad at KSBA.