Over a 12-year period, charter school students made gains in reading and math on national achievement tests that were roughly twice as large as those made by students in district schools, according to new research.
Black students and those from low-income families made the greatest improvements over time. After trailing in both subjects in 2005, students in charters caught up with district students by 2017, even slipping a point ahead in fourth- and eighth-grade reading, the study shows. Researchers from Harvard University attributed the gains to the improvement of schools in the charter sector and to the greater academic skills among the students choosing those schools.
