The Spillover Effects of Charter Schools on Public School Students in New York City

A particularly controversial topic in current education policy is the expansion of the charter school sector. This paper analyzes the spillover effects of charter schools on traditional public school (TPS) students in New York City.

The author exploits variation in both the timing of charter school entry and distance to the nearest charter school to obtain credibly causal estimates of the impacts of charter schools on TPS student performance, and estimates the impacts of charter school co-location.

The author finds charter schools significantly increase TPS student performance in both English Language Arts and math, and decrease the probability of grade retention. Effects increase with charter school proximity and are largest in TPSs co-located with charter schools.

Potential explanations for improved performance include increased per pupil expenditures academic expectations, student engagement, and a more respectful and safe school environment after charter entry.