Charter School Performance in Indiana

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This study examined the effect of charter school attendance on annual student achievement growth in math and reading by analyzing data from a large sample of students in grades 4 through 9 in Indiana from 2004 to 2008.

The authors matched charter school students to similar students attending traditional public schools based on test scores and demographic characteristics. Eighty-four percent of charter school students from the 42 charter schools included were successfully matched.

The study examined changes in students’ standardized reading and math test scores from one school year to the next. Effects were estimated by comparing the test-score changes of charter school students with those of matched students attending traditional public schools.

The study found that charter school students’ annual math score growth and annual reading test score growth was slightly higher than a group of similar students attending traditional public schools.

What Works Clearinghouse:

The research described in this report meets WWC evidence standards with reservations:

Strengths: The study matched charter school students with similar students in traditional public schools using demographic and academic characteristics.

Cautions: Although the study matched charter school students with traditional public school students based on observed demographic characteristics and test scores, unobserved differences between the two groups may have existed. For example, the type of student that decides to attend a charter school