One in Five Charter Schools Is Bad Enough to Close [View all]
Source: Bloomberg News
As many as one in five U.S. charter schools should be shut down because of poor academic performance, according to a group representing states, districts and universities that grant them permission to operate.
The National Association of Charter School Authorizers said 900 to 1,300 of the privately run, publicly financed schools should close because they are in the bottom 15 percent of public schools in their states. The Chicago-based group’s members -- such as the Los Angeles Unified School District and the State University of New York -- oversee more than half of the nation’s 5,600 charter schools.
... The call for closing poor-performers carries special weight because it comes from an organization funded by charter-school advocates such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.
... Today’s announcement follows debate about whether charter schools are weakening the finances of traditional districts, siphoning off students from the most committed families, promoting racial and economic segregation in public education and failing to provide equal access to students with disabilities.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-28/one-in-five-charter-schools-should-close-on-performance.html
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