Searching for the Tipping Point: Scaling up Public School Choice Spurs Citywide Gains.
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| Title: | Searching for the Tipping Point: Scaling up Public School Choice Spurs Citywide Gains. |
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| Authors: | Garcia, David R.1 |
| Source: | Education Review (10945296). 2025, Vol. 32, p1-11. 11p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Charter schools, *Statistical correlation, *Achievement gap, *Urban education, *Public schools, *Education policy, *Academic achievement, Policy analysis |
| Abstract: | A recent report from the Progressive Policy Institute examines the impact of charter schools on the achievement of students who remain enrolled in traditional district schools. It is centered around a graph that depicts a strong positive relationship between the percentage of students enrolled in charter schools and decreases in the achievement gap (as measured in test scores) for all low-income students in selected cities. But when the reviewer ran a correlation analysis using the exact data provided in the report, he discovered that the relationship depicted in the report is, in fact, weak (r = 0.4). Moreover, while the report recognizes that correlations do not indicate causation, it still asserts that the presence of charter schools in a city, alone, has a "spillover effect" related to improvements in the academic achievement of students who are not enrolled in those charter schools. The report is fundamentally flawed for two reasons. The depictions of a strong relationship between the presence of charter schools and decreases in the achievement gap are deceiving; only a weak relationship is found in the report's data. Also, the policy recommendations are based on an enormous, unsubstantiated leap, and the report makes no effort to close this vast gap in logic in support of its recommendations. The report should be discredited as a valid contribution to policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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