Are charter schools useless?

[Starry Messenger]

11. They're useful for siphoning off tax money.

They are serving the same communities public schools are serving--I think they tend to reflect the same reality that public schools deal with (if they aren't cherry picking, which often, they are).

I don't think test scores are what make a "great school", but since many charters use that as their reason to exist, then by that standard they do fall short and are often worse than public schools.

We could have great schools in the US if they were all properly funded and if as a country we were committed to economic justice in all of our communities. There should be no hungry children in classrooms, straining to take tests that are created and scored by private companies making a profit.