Are charter schools really better than public schools? Are they the answer to solving the educational void in this generation and future generations to come? The answer is no to both questions. The main point of charter schools are to create more educational benefits for those who have either struggled or didn't think public schooling was sufficient enough for them. The problem with that is in fact; they aren't performing better than public schools, loosely regulated, and the theory that charters create competition isn't completely true. Charter schools are not the way to go about fixing the school systems. They create more harm than success.
Many contest that charter schools outperform public schools in test scores, graduations, and success rates. However, the numbers prove on the contrary. In 2003, the Bush Administration did research of 70% of charter schools throughout the United States. 83% of those schools performed no better or even worse than public schools did. The ratio of 2:1 outnumbers charter schools underperforming than over performing (isreview.org). Many investors of charter schools are for-profit companies. In the state of Ohio, more than half the charter's money goes to profiteers. A miniscule 8% of schools received a positive review and rating, compared to 63% of public schools statewide. Focus then should turn to the teachers, these teachers, on average, have fewer years of experience than that of public school's teachers. In 2009, the odds of a charter school teacher leaving his or her profession was 132% greater than that of a public school teacher (isreview.org). these teachers were not let go for conduct detrimental to their student's education and success but voluntarily walk away from their career. The...
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...hools perform better than public schools? No, no and no. the numbers retrieved in research do not lie. 83% of charter schools are doing no better and even worse than public schools. Charter school teachers are 132% more likely to resign willingly from their positions as a teacher than teachers from public schools. Multiple cases of charter school owners misusing large amounts of money, not just any money, but your earn hard-earned cash. The fact that competition is not helping anything but widening a gap between reality and general copouts. There is no morality in limiting sources to a select few students. The solution lies in the expansion of widespread resources to all students. Put the money and effort in to the general cause of public schooling. If it is not broke, why try to fix it? Charter schools are not the solution to the problem, but the fuel to the fire.
Zimmer, R. and Buddin, R. (2009), Is Charter School Competition in California Improving the Performance of Traditional Public Schools?. Public Administration Review, 69: 831–845. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2009.02033.x
One of the most pressing issues facing the United States today is its failing educational system. While many solutions have been proposed, the idea of charter schools has been both popular and controversial. The topic of charter schools is being debated in as many places as local school board meetings to state supreme courts. Though on the surface, charter schools seem like an exciting and promising step for the future of education in America, they are not the answer to this country’s ever-increasing educational problems. Charters will drain already scarce funding from regular public schools, and many of the supposed “positives” surrounding them are uncertain and unpredictable at best.
The improvements made by public schools should not be discounted, either. While there are certainly schools and school districts that remain very troubled those administrators and schools boards are not standing idly by. There are continuous improvements in such schools, and there needs to be even more. Taking money from them when efforts are being made to improve their condition will clearly on hinder such improvement. Private schools are and should remain an option for all parents, but our society mustn't waver when it comes to supporting our public schools.
Arguments For: Allows individuals or groups with innovative educational ideas to put them into practice without being unduly hampered by local or state bureaucracy. These schools may have unconventional hours, experiment with curricula, specialize in certain types of teaching or design programs tailored to a particular audience or community. Charter schools can introduce the ingredient of a measure of needed competition to the public schools. They may provide for more accountability because schools that work will be rewarded and those that do not will be changed or even closed.
The argument that public schools will benefit from the competition that vouchers will encourage is absurd. Public schools accept all students regardless of their academic ability, handicap or family background, while private schools generally do not admit students who they expect will bring their average scores down or who require special accommodations. Competition, even on this uneven playing field, implies winners and losers. When it comes to education, we would hate to see any child on the losing side.
“Many charter schools segregate students along the racial and class lines and that they may also tend to lack services for students with disabilities or limited English proficiency, which leads to less diversity in Charter schools. Charter schools have their own school boards and are typically free to experiment with instructional and disciplinary methods, Charter schools are privately run by boards that are appointed by charter organizations rather the public which means less local accountability and
Charter schools are public schools of choice, meaning that families choose them for their children. They operate with freedom from some of the regulations that are imposed upon school districts. Charter schools are accountable for academic results and upholding the promises made in their charters.
The issue of whether charter or public schools are more beneficial for students has been an ongoing debate. The question that arise is which type provides a better education. Having gone to a charter high school myself, I got to see and experience first-hand the benefits of going to a charter school as well as realizing the issues charter schools face here in Oklahoma. These problems need to address in order to guarantee that students are getting the best education that they can get. We are facing an epidemic today with our education system and charter schools could be the solution. There may be opponents to the idea of having charter schools, but they have been wildly successful lately and are quickly expanded throughout the states. This is due to the fact that charter schools can benefit people economically, educationally, and as well as socially.
The biggest difference between charter schools and public schools is that the charter schools have their own operating system, foundation and teachers. (Ravitch, Reign of Error, chapter 16, p157-160) There also are some disadvantages in charter schools, first is the quality gap, due to the quality of teaching which almost depends on teachers and principals. The second one is differentiation between races and classes. Some charter schools’ mission is to serve minorities, such as African-Americans and Hispanics, because they want to save the nations’ culture.
Since President Clinton signed into law, H. R. 2616, the “Charter School Expansion Act of 1998” charter schools have been providing an alternative for parents of public school students (Lin, Q., 2001, p.2). To date, charter schools enroll over 500,000 students (Fusarelli, 2002, p. 1). Charter schools have been favorable because it is believed that they can provide for a way to enhance student achievement by serving students who have been under-served by the public schools (Fusarelli, 2002). There is a belief that by creating a competitive educational system, public schools will undergo significant reforms in response to the threat (Franklin, 2002). Because parents of charter school students have made the choice for their children to attend a charter school, it is believed that parents will become more “involved” in their child’s education (Hammer, 2003). Charter schools in many states are “exempt from many state mandates” (Fusarelli, 2002, p. 2). As a result of these exemptions, charter schools also have more flexibility for the administrators when hiring teachers and running a school. They are able to provide higher salaries for teachers working in hard to fill teaching positions (Finn, Kanstoroom, 2002).
It will have created competition between school, increasing greater efficiency and better results to all schools. When parents can select where to commit their kid to school, they will take the choice that offers higher standards. it will have forced poorly performance schools to improve their operation; providing a better curriculum and more flexibility in staffing. As a result, Charter Schools foster a more beneficial environment for the market competition and price efficiency. Gary Miron, a specialist in the valuation of the charter school movement, states: The rhetorical arguments and assumptions or so charter schools claim that charter schools will use their autonomy to create focused learning communities and higher layers of accountability and that this will result in higher degrees of
The most repeated argument in favour of charter schools, is that competition will increase the overall quality of schools. Charter schools will try new, innovative teaching techniques and if they do not work, that school will get bad reviews and shut down; charter schools that have successful systems wills get more students and therefore more funding. The market will control the school system. Liberalist ideologies agree with concept as it promotes market competition as method of quality and quantity control. Charter schools have also been lauded as champions of equal opportunity; they enable all Americans to have the freedom of choice with their child’s education without having to pay the tuition that comes with private schools.
Opponents of charter school expansion claim that “every time a new charter school opens or expands, it takes funding away from the public schools in that district” (Galvin, 2016). Students who attend charter schools take public funding with them. Critics of this law fear that this could costs local public school districts more than one billion dollars a year. Opponents of the law argue for fixing public school that are falling apart, rather than taking money away from them in favor of “privately-run charters” (Galvin, 2016).
“If anything is to be done with the Indian, we must catch him very young. The children must be kept constantly within the circle of civilized conditions.” Nicholas Flood Davin,” From 1831 to 1969 more than 150,000 aboriginal children were forced into Indian Residential Schools. The government of Canada used this system to assimilate young aboriginal children. The government and many churches joined to run these schools. Indian Residential Schools were one of the biggest stains in Canadian history because they violated human rights, tried to eliminate aboriginal culture and created the lasting effects which are still felt today.
One of the fundamental ideas that America is based on is that education is unbiased, equal and important. Every state has a law in place stating that all students under the age of 16 (some states are 18) must attend school, despite language barriers and handicaps (USIA Chapter 6). To help make this happen, an expansion has been made to the public education system; charter schools. The US Charter School website defines Charter schools as “…innovative public schools providing choices for families and greater accountability for results”. These schools were created as hopes of preventing and reversing the damages of failing public schools.