Western Michigan University’s recent study on KIPP, a widely known public charter school network, shouldn’t deter legislators from encouraging charter school growth and replication. The study questioned KIPP’s effectiveness because KIPP raises substantial private funds to supplement government funding and does not enroll new students to fill openings when students leave a KIPP school. These should be viewed as points of differentiation, not weaknesses.

We know that measuring same-student learning gains is the best way to gauge academic performance of schools and the academic growth of individual students. Imagine Schools and KIPP serve students in some of the most disadvantaged communities, and students often enter our schools below grade level.