Charter schools boast a strong return on investment, according to a new report published by the University of Arkansas’ prolific Department of Education Reform.
Researchers compared charter schools to traditional public schools in eight cities on two measures of productivity: cost-effectiveness and return on investment.
Across the cities studied (Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, New York City, San Antonio, and the District of Columbia), “charter schools outperform [traditional public schools] on both productivity metrics overall and for all eight cities,” researchers report.
Though they receive $6,207 less per pupil on average, or 26% less funding than traditional public schools in these eight cities, charters boast better results on short-term test scores and long-term earnings.
Specifically, charters deliver a cross-city average of an additional 5.2 NAEP points in reading per $1,000 funded and 5.55 points in math per $1,000 funded. These figures represent a 36% productivity difference.
For longer-term outcomes, the study finds that each dollar invested in a K-12 education in traditional public schools yields $4.41 in lifetime earnings, compared to $6.37 for each dollar invested in a charter school — a 45% charter school ROI advantage.
Researchers calculated cost effectiveness by dividing the NAEP scores achieved by each city by the city’s per-pupil revenue and ROI by comparing expected economic benefits from spending 13 years in a charter school versus a traditional public school. Recognizing that not every student spends their schooling in the same type of school, they also conducted a hybrid analysis for children spending 6.5 years in a charter school versus a traditional public school.
“Public charter schools in these eight U.S. cities are a good public investment in terms of the comparative amount of student achievement they produce for the funding they receive,” the researchers conclude.
As of the 2017-2018 school year, 7,000 public charter schools enrolled more than 3 million students. Though results vary across states and charter school networks, the most comprehensive research reports conclude that, on average, public charter schools have a positive effect on student achievement, especially in cities.
Kate Hardiman is a contributor to Red Alert Politics. She is pursuing a master’s degree in education from Notre Dame University and teaches English and religion at a high school in Chicago.
