Charter Schools Still Look Good : At this point, opponents are hasty in handing out an F grade

The critics’ view of the charter school movement is interesting. It goes something like this: Take the most recent set of standardized test scores; point out the predictable fact that some students haven’t improved, or have even declined, and suggest that the whole effort might be a waste of time.

Of course, that is ridiculous. The approximately 100 schools around the state that have been freed from most state and local regulations have launched a variety of programs. That some have shown dramatic improvement seems, to the critics, to be less important than the so-called early failures.

What kind of improvement? Locally, let’s take as an example the Fenton Avenue Elementary charter school. Its students showed a 31% improvement in language and a 41% gain in math on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. Sounds like the charter movement is working there.

Fenton is one reason it’s far too early to dismiss the charter schools movement. That’s why we are pleased to note a recent decision by the State Board of Education to waive the 100-school ceiling and allow four more schools to join the experimental program. Some of these schools can learn much from existing charter efforts and may avoid mistakes.

The book has only begun to be written on the best ways to run largely independent public schools in California. Who’s to say that the 100 or so already selected have a monopoly on the best methods?