The Charter School Challenge: Avoiding the Pitfalls, Fulfilling the Promise

Charter schools have become a US phenomenon, garnering praise from Democrats and Republicans. Because they appear to sidestep both political stalemate and the practical difficulty of implementing widespread change - the traditional barriers to improvement in the American public sector - charter schools hold great promise as an educational reform. Now, with charter laws on the books in more than 30 states, Bryan Hassel investigates whether charter schools have been able to avoid the pitfalls that have tripped up so many other "revolutionary" school reforms. After a broad overview of how charter laws have been adopted nationwide, the study focuses in depth on charter schools in Michigan, Colorado, Georgia and Massachusetts. Hassel reviews the four states' implementation of charter laws and whether their programmes are providing sufficient autonomy, resources and potential to influence the broader educational system - all essential components for charter schools' success. He concludes that if states want to give charter schools a full test, they should empower nonlocal entities to approve the schools, establish them as distinct local entities, allow per-pupil funding to go with students to the charter schools, and impose minimal constraints on the source and number of charter schools. The schools themselves will need to improve their infrastructure, and charter-granting agencies will have to rebuild the systems for monitoring schools' academic results and compliance with regulations. These policies are suggested to be vital for charter schools to realize their potential as a significant educational reform.