Florida Charter Schools--good article/criticism.

[Baitball Blogger]

MadFloridian would be posting this if she were here.

Debate rages: Do charter students perform better than others?

But some critics question the state's seemingly unconditional support for these schools that run on taxpayer money but are free from some state education rules.

They note charters earned a disproportionate share of F's on Florida's 2011 school report card and accounted for most of the 10 worst elementary schools on Gov. Rick Scott's new school rankings. They also cite the nearly 200 that have closed since Florida's first charters opened in 1996.

A University of Central Florida professor was so bothered by the state's April report — released under a headline that said charter students "excel across the board" — that he did his own analysis of charter-school performance. He took into account the percentage of poor children enrolled, which he said the state largely ignored.

snip

Children from low-income families typically lag behind those from wealthier homes on standardized tests. The percentage of poor kids in charters is 45 percent compared with 55 percent at traditional public schools.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-05-11/features/os-charter-schools-success-debate-20120511_1_traditional-public-schools-charter-students-national-charter-school-week

[RebelOne]

1. My daughter is a teacher at a South Florida charter school

and all of her students are doing exceptionally well.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. The results will largely depend on the charter school.

I knew one which was strict as hell. Parents were required to attend all parents meetings. If they missed three in a year, their children were expelled. All parents were required to perform voluntary services.

It was as good, if not better than a public school. However, I don't think that many people who are opening up charters are going in with as effective a plan.

However, this is something that should be judged by statistics. Not by individual anecdote. The problem is, that charters aren't getting the same kind of scrutiny given to public schools.

[HiPointDem]

4. show me the data; especially the data about parental income & the percentage of students

who are "counseled out".

plus the data on the percent of ELL and special-needs students.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. kick