A new project called the Education Equality Index grades schools on how well they close the educational gap between rich and poor students. Charter schools make up 7 percent of all public schools nationwide, but 30 percent of the schools identified as closing the gap in the index.
“While we celebrate the schools that are significantly improving student achievement, this report is a reminder of the need for even more high-quality charter schools,” said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Charter schools have shown impressive results in serving students from all backgrounds, and parental demand for more charter schools is at an all-time high, with a million student names on wait lists.” Rees also pointed out that 80 percent of schools that close the gap in Hialeah, Fla., are charter schools. Hialeah has the smallest achievement gap between rich and poor students in the country.
The Education Equality Index says that New Mexico, Florida and Arizona are doing the best job at giving low-income families access to schools that put them on a level playing field.
“Equality of opportunity is an American ideal,” said Ethan Gray, Founder and CEO of Education Cities. “The Education Equality Index shows that while we, as a nation, have a long way to go to ensure our most vulnerable children have the opportunities they need to thrive, there are schools in almost every city proving that equality is possible.” The Index says 90 percent of major cities have an individual school that has either closed the achievement gap or made progress on closing it.
To measure the gap, the index considers the portion of students who are proficient in various subjects and who qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program in every school. Then, it compares those proficiency figures to statewide data for all students. Schools score higher if their free or reduced lunch students are more proficient in the various assessments than the statewide average. It’s not a question of the difference between rich and poor students at a certain school, but rather a question of how low-income students do in a given school compared to all students statewide.
Across the country, there are about 6,500 charter schools serving 2.5 million students. Nearly 60 percent of charter schools have student populations where a majority of students qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program, compared to about half of traditional public schools.
Charter schools are publicly-funded and do not charge tuition. Compared to traditional public schools, charter schools have more independence and flexibility in their operations and curricula, which is why so many families find charter schools desirable. They are open to all students, but they often don’t have enough space to meet demand. In that case, they use a random lottery system to determine admission.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
