Saturday, September 17, 2016

Charter schools in the urban areas of Massachusetts have large, positive effects on educational outcomes


There is a deep well of rigorous, relevant research on the performance of charter schools in Massachusetts. This research exploits random assignment and student-level, longitudinal data to examine the effect of charter schools in Massachusetts.

This research shows that charter schools in the urban areas of Massachusetts have large, positive effects on educational outcomes. The effects are particularly large for disadvantaged students, English learners, special education students, and children who enter charters with low test scores.

In marked contrast, the research finds that the effects of charters in the suburbs and rural areas of Massachusetts are not positive. Estimates indicate that students at these charter schools do the same or worse than their peers at traditional public schools.

Complete report

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