A Primer on Charter Schools

The Fraser Institute has just released a new study of North American charter schools ("autonomous public schools that provide innovative or enhanced education programs designed to improve student learning").

There has been a tremendous growth in charter schools in the US, such that they claim almost five percent of the student population in the 43 US jurisdictions with charter school legislation. 

In Canada, the only province with charter school legislation is Alberta, and the number of charter schools there is capped at 15. Even so, about one and a half percent of Alberta students attend a charter school. 

'A total of 44 studies on charter schools in Alberta were identified and reviewed for this paper. While the research shows that the schools are innovative in their delivery of education, it was surprising that investigations of charter school effects on improvements in student achievement was not more common. Still, taken together, the studies showed that charter schools in Alberta 'provide enhanced student learning outcomes'.

"The research found enhanced scores, higher rankings, and more benchmark achievement for charter students than for their counterparts, usually after controlling for socio-economic differences. Furthermore, charter schools were found to provide more choice for parents and students, and evidence exists that, particularly in some school districts, they exert positive competitive pressure on area schools. Thus, although the expansion of charter schools has been tightly controlled in Alberta, they have earned a strong presence in the public education landscape. The vast majority of US states have now passed charter school legislation and enrolments have grown markedly in that country. Research from the US, and in a more limited way, from Canada, shows that charter schools offer enhanced student outcomes, particularly for some disadvantaged groups of students. As such, they are worthy of attention."

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