ARIZONA'S CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE AN ABYSMAL FAILURE THAT SHOULD BE AN ....

Hyperwrx

Hyperwrx

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ARIZONA'S CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE AN ABYSMAL FAILURE THAT SHOULD BE AN EXAMPLE TO THE NATION

PHOENIX, AZ—Arizona's Charter Schools are an abysmal failure. Drop out rates among Charter High Schools are the highest in the nation when compared to public schools, despite the amount of money spent on each student. Student's in Arizona Charter Schools have a higher failure rate on the state required AIMS test when compared to those students in public schools.

My son attends a Charter High School. He has had some learning difficulties for years, and a year ago my wife and I were led to believe that a Charter School was the best alternative because of the smaller class sizes, and the higher curriculum standards. Regrettably my wife and I didn't do our homework before we enrolled him in a Charter School Program.

The other day my 17 year old son asked for help with his homework. He wanted to know what a “helper verb” was, and was having difficulty grasping grammar concepts that were elementary in nature, and that he was proficient in just three years ago.

Arizona is the most progressive in the Charter School movement. Charter Schools in Arizona were created about a decade ago. They operate both on a for-profit, and non-profit status.

One of the largest for-profit Charter School groups in Arizona is The Leona Group of Arizona. A Limited Liability company that is part of the national Leona Group, an Educational Management Organization that operates private schools across the nation.

The Leona Group of Arizona owns, and operates the school that my son attends in Chandler, Arizona- El Dorado High School.

I checked with the Arizona Department of Education (we should have done this initially, but we didn't) and received performance information about El Dorado High School, as well as the Chandler Unified School District – which is the public school district in our area.

What I discovered about El Dorado High School was enlightening, as well as disappointing.

El Dorado is scheduled to receive about $1,151,743.82 from the Arizona Department of Education for Fiscal Year 2006-2007. El Dorado is listed on publicschoolsreview.com as one of the Top 20 Schools in Arizona (listed in 9th place) with the highest expenditure of money per student of $16,644.

Despite the enormous expenditure of taxpayer dollars at El Dorado High School their performance rate indicates nothing but problems. For school year ending June 2006 the promotion rate at El Dorado High School was only 48%, as opposed to 82% for the entire state. They retained 10% of all students at the same grade, as opposed to only 3% in the state pubic schools. They had a high school drop out rate of 32% as opposed to 6% on a state wide level, and they only graduated 43% of their senior high school senior class as opposed to 79% in the states public schools.


El Dorado's performance on the AIMS Test – required to test proficiency of school students -- was even more frightening.

Only 10% of El Dorado High School Students met state proficiency standards in mathematics, as opposed to 49% of all high school students in the State of Arizona. 35% of El Dorado's students met state standards in reading compared to 63% of all Arizona high school students, and 39% met state standards in writing, compared to 63% of all Arizona High School students.

El Dorado High School failed to meet federal No Child Left Behind standards for School Year 2004-2005, and once again in 2005-2006.

I went back to the Arizona Department of Education and randomly selected 25 Arizona Charter High Schools. I found that performance wise, despite the expenditure of taxpayer money for charter school students, and a higher expenditure for each student that their retention rates, were almost double, and sometimes more than double the rate in Arizona public schools. The drop out rates at these charter high schools when compared to state public schools were almost tripple, and sometimes quadruple the rate at public schools. The AIMs failure rate was almost triple that of public high schools.

Charter schools advance numerous defenses of poor funding, poor AIMs testing protocol, and various other reasons for not meeting state and federal standards. However, in the end it's all relative when you consider the numbers behind the failure of Arizona's charter schools to perform at even minimal standards. It's all irrelevant when my 17 year old son is released into the world, a poor example of Arizona's failure to educate, and prepare him for a cold world.

Arizona's public school system needs significant repair. But after my personal experience I have a greater respect for the public school system, and the role that it plays. It is too late for my 17 year old son. But, I hope that it is not too late for future generations of children in Arizona. Prior to enrolling your child in a Charter School go to the Arizona Department of Education web site (http://www.ade.az.gov) and check the performance of the charter school. Finally, the statistics from Arizona of the high failure rate of charter schools, and the poor excuses and defenses advanced should be a lesson to the nation that the charter school system just doesn't work.

SOURCES/CONTRIBUTORS:ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; ARIZONA CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD.
 
Looks like some teachers in the Charter schools need to be replaced for failure to do their job! Simple as that! Not that simple in the public schools!
 
Unfortunately charter schools are held to a lower standard and still are able to open and draw assistance from the government. Because their pay is so much lower than public schools they have a tough time replacing teachers who are fired or more often just leave.

I interviewed the head of the criminal investigative unit at the Arizona Department of Education several years back for my Masters thesis. When I asked about abuse issues with relation to teachers and students he said, "If I were predator and was looking for a job I would gravitate to a charter school position. Tons of kids and no background check to get a job."

If I were a parent I'd steer far from a charter school, in AZ at least.
 
You finally got one (mostly) right, but you have to compare public school type A with public school type B. Both district and charter schools are still public schools.

Interestingly, according to the AZ Dept of Ed, 22 of the 88 "excelling" public schools (the highest rating) are charter schools and 12 of the top 25 are charter schools.

A recent Stanford study found mixed results in charter schools nationally:

Quote:17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that were significantly better than traditional public schools, while 37 percent of charter schools showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts, with 46 percent of charter schools demonstrating no significant difference.

In other words nationwide there was a 63% chance of your kid doing better or the same in a charter school.



The study also found this:

Quote:The effectiveness of charter schools was found to vary widely by state. The variation was over and above existing differences among states in their academic results.

States with significantly higher learning gains for charter school students than would have occurred in traditional schools include:
o Arkansas
o Colorado (Denver)
o Illinois (Chicago)
o Louisiana
o Missouri

The gains in growth ranged from .02 Standard deviations in Illinois (Chicago) to .07 standard deviations in Colorado (Denver).

States that demonstrated lower average charter school student growth than their peers in traditional schools included:
o Arizona
o Florida
o Minnesota
o New Mexico
o Ohio
o Texas
In this group, the marginal shift ranged from -.01 in Arizona to -.06 standard deviations in Ohio.

AZ was in the worst category, but barely (-.01 standard deviation is small but statistically significant), and it depended on which category of student you were talking about.

Quote:Arizona

A supplemental report, with an in-depth examination of the results for charter schools in Arizona found that reading and math gains were significantly lower in charter school students compared to their traditional public school peers. African-American and Hispanic students in charter schools performed significantly lower in math, with no discernable difference in reading compared to their counterparts in traditional public schools. English Language Learner and Special Education charter school students reported significantly higher gains in reading and math, respectively.


Apparently the State of AZ isn't holding charter schools accountable (to their charter), but it is no real surprise since they are still just government schools by another name.
 
Accountability Proves To Be Elusive

In its official evaluation of the federally funded Public Charter School Program, Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program: Final Report, the U.S. Department of Education found that many charter school authorizers lack the capacity to adequately oversee charter school operations, often lack authority to implement formal sanctions, and rarely invoke the authority they do have to revoke or not renew a charter. Where charters have been revoked or not renewed, the decision has been linked more to noncompliance with state and federal regulations and financial problems than with academic performance.
 
Yep, sounds like the same reasons as for (the very rare) regular district school closures.

The problem isn't the type of government school, it's the government school system itself.
 
Originally Posted By: nmleonYou finally got one (mostly) right, but you have to compare public school type A with public school type B. Both district and charter schools are still public schools.

Interestingly, according to the AZ Dept of Ed, 22 of the 88 "excelling" public schools (the highest rating) are charter schools and 12 of the top 25 are charter schools.

A recent Stanford study found mixed results in charter schools nationally:

Quote:17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that were significantly better than traditional public schools, while 37 percent of charter schools showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts, with 46 percent of charter schools demonstrating no significant difference.
In other words nationwide there was a 63% chance of your kid doing better or the same in a charter school.


The study also found this:

Quote:The effectiveness of charter schools was found to vary widely by state. The variation was over and above existing differences among states in their academic results.

States with significantly higher learning gains for charter school students than would have occurred in traditional schools include:
o Arkansas
o Colorado (Denver)
o Illinois (Chicago)
o Louisiana
o Missouri

The gains in growth ranged from .02 Standard deviations in Illinois (Chicago) to .07 standard deviations in Colorado (Denver).

States that demonstrated lower average charter school student growth than their peers in traditional schools included:
o Arizona
o Florida
o Minnesota
o New Mexico
o Ohio
o Texas
In this group, the marginal shift ranged from -.01 in Arizona to -.06 standard deviations in Ohio.

AZ was in the worst category, but barely (-.01 standard deviation is small but statistically significant), and it depended on which category of student you were talking about.

Quote:Arizona

A supplemental report, with an in-depth examination of the results for charter schools in Arizona found that reading and math gains were significantly lower in charter school students compared to their traditional public school peers. African-American and Hispanic students in charter schools performed significantly lower in math, with no discernable difference in reading compared to their counterparts in traditional public schools. English Language Learner and Special Education charter school students reported significantly higher gains in reading and math, respectively.


Apparently the State of AZ isn't holding charter schools accountable (to their charter), but it is no real surprise since they are still just government schools by another name.


By those same numbers, there's an 83% chance your kid will do the same or worse in charter schools. Fun with numbers.
 
I have two sons in a Arizona charter school. I am pleased with their education VS Bisbee High School which my oldest son attended. What needs to be factored in is that the charter schools are packed with the kids who have been kicked out of public schools and girls who got knocked up and the parents put them into a charter school to get their loser daughter away from the kid who impregnated her. Success is a individualized thing. My sons are doing good(As and Bs) and getting a fine education. The other kids make my sons look soooo good.
 
Some charter schools provide a really good education. Smaller class sizes means more 1 on 1 time between teach and student.

Harvey7- Why did you pull your son from the public high school and enroll him in the charter school if I may ask?
 
My two younger sons are currently in a charter high school. They have never attended the public high school. Their older brother (who has graduated) went to the public high school and there were many issues there. Lack of discipline, teachers who didn't care anymore if they ever did.
 
Thansk for answering my questions. A few follow up questions.

Do you see a lower teacher to student ratio in your high school charter school than in the public school?

Did you as the parent or your son(s) have to sign a behavior or discipline contract at the charter school?

How do you feel that your charter school teachers show they care for the students more than at the local public high school?

Thanks in advance.
 
I'm in my 12th year teaching, this is my first year in a charter school. Stats regarding charter schools can be complicated to say the least. Depending on how the charter is written for an individual school, the makeup of students can vary greatly. In my particular school, it sometimes becomes a castoff from the district ie: "your about to be expelled, but before we do, why don't you check out this school". Sad but true. Since we are a "public" school if we are not full, we have to take them. We are a K-8 school, and our scores are right in line with other in the district if not better. Advantage, is we have a max of 17 students per class. My largest class is 12. Too early to say if it's much better or not. Right now it's different.
Mike
 
Mike,
I have a question maybe you can clear up. I have heard that many charter schools can pass on a special needs student due to the school not having the facilities and support to provide the best education for the student. True? At the public school we have to not only take the special needs student but if we can not provide the best learning environment for the student, the district pays to have him buses to one that can (private for special needs for example) and pays for the private schools tuition also. Huge bill.

example- I knew of a 12 year old autistic boy who had become quite violent to other students. At the beginning of the school year the child study team decided his needs would better be served at a private school. The district buses him there and pays the tuition. because the public school accepts federal and state funding we are obligated to educate everyone without our district boundaries regardless of the cost. You guys end up doing that also?

Thanks in advance.
 
Scott,
Good question, and a complicated one. I can't speak for everywhere, as laws, and the school dist. structure can vary from state to state. Special Education is very complicated and costly. Here, (from my understanding, again first year in this setting)we don't exactly receive tax dollars directly the way the school dist. does. We get the cost per student rate as set by the state/county. Our approx. cost per student is about $4186. (Which is pretty close to the total cost, as opposed to the district whose total cost is significantly higher due to extra funds they receive that we don't.) That rate is higher for special needs student. Therefore we wouldn't get a student that we couldn't accommodate. We also wouldn't be responsible for paying tuition because we don't hold the tax base. Because we are a public school, we can't refuse a student that fits our criteria. My father is a retired superintendent and principal. He now is the director of a private special needs school. Because of funding cuts and political mess in his state his school enrollment has dropped 50% due to schools taking their students back. Whether this is good or bad is debatable, and really should be looked at on an individual basis. Fortunately, our pay scale is the same as the school dist. Non-union state here BTW.
Mike
 
I have never had anything to do with Charter schools. Could one of the educators here explain to me what the major differences are between Public, Charter and Private Schools are. Kind of seems like the Charter and Public schools have little difference in the way they are administered.
 


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