The National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is also known as the Nation’s Report Card, recently released its first set of post-COVID test scores. The results weren’t pretty.
The average fourth grader’s reading score dropped 5 points since 2020 — the most significant drop among the age group in over two decades. The math test results were even worse as the average 9-year-old faced a 7-point drop, making it one of the most disappointing results in the test’s history. Moreover, lower-performing and disadvantaged students encountered greater test score losses than their peers, further widening the achievement gap.
These catastrophic results have left many in the K-12 education system wondering where to go from here.
Undoubtedly, teacher unions and the politicians who kept schools closed must be held accountable. But that will not immediately help the students who suffered academically. Students and families deserve more than a scapegoat; they deserve a reimagined education system. One that actually works.
The creation and expansion of the public charter school system can help resolve the residual impact of pandemic learning losses. If the restrictions held against the establishment of new charter schools were removed, this free and open educational opportunity would play an essential role in getting students back on track. Charter schools in New York City, for example, already have a history of great success. A study published earlier this year reported around 90% of charter schools authorized in the city scored higher on the standardized math and English language arts exams than their local traditional public school counterparts in 2019.
Yet, the high achievement of charter schools seems only one of many reasons why a new report found “three in four parents” want their education options to include “more public charter school offerings in their area.” This is because, in addition to improving their students’ test scores, charter schools positively affect test scores for students located in nearby “traditional” schools. For instance, two recent studies found significant academic gains for students who remain in traditional public schools when charter schools increase enrollment.
Regrettably, despite the extraordinary impacts charter schools can have on local communities, many localities force an arbitrary cap on the number of charter schools and students allowed to be in them. Every school year, students nationwide participate in lotteries to gain a coveted seat in the school of their choice. These lotteries let children dream of an opportunity to receive an excellent education, unlike many current systems that determine a child’s educational opportunities based on nothing more than their home address. A child’s chance to attend the school of their choice shouldn’t have to be a gamble, however.
Ninety-three percent of parents polled by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools already know this, agreeing that the one-size-fits-all residential assigned public school system of the past doesn’t work for every child.
Instead of capping students’ educational chances, state legislators should recognize parents as the most important stakeholders in a child’s education. They should listen to them by removing restrictions against charter schools. Doing so will set America’s students on a better course — one destined for success.
Cooper Conway is a national voices fellow at 50CAN and a contributor and commentator at Young Voices, focusing on education reform. Follow him on Twitter @CooperConway1.
