Do Charter Middle Schools Improve Students’ College Outcomes?

The Institute of Education Sciences released a brief today (April, 2^nd) titled, Do Charter Middle Schools Improve Students’ College Outcomes?
The National Center for Education Evaluation (NCEE) study examined whether or not charter middle schools improved students’ longer-term outcomes. The study obtained college enrollment and completion data for students who -- more than a decade ago -- entered lotteries to be admitted to 31 charter middle schools across the United States. Since the lotteries randomly selected students for admission, comparing the 1,723 students accepted to the charter middle schools  to the 1,150 students who applied but were not accepted, provided a rigorous way to assess if the schools improved college outcomes.

Key findings include:

• Being admitted to a charter middle school in the study did not affect college enrollment. On average, 69 percent of both students admitted to charter schools and students that applied but were not admitted enrolled in some type of college by December 2017, or 3-8 years after they were expected to graduate from high school. There were no significant differences in the types of colleges where the two groups enrolled—including two-year and four-year colleges, public and private colleges, and more and less selective colleges.

• Charter school admission did not affect degree attainment or students’ chances of  remaining enrolled in college. On average, 48 percent of students admitted to charter schools and 47 percent of students that applied but were not admitted had a degree or were still enrolled as of December 2017. Charter middle schools also did not affect students’ likelihood of obtaining a degree at either two-year or four-year schools.

• Individual charter middle schools’ success in improving college outcomes was not related to their success in improving middle school achievement. An earlier analysis found that the charter middle schools included in the study did not affect middle school achievement, on average. But, charter schools in urban areas and those serving economically disadvantaged students did improve achievement. However, the study schools that improved middle school achievement were not consistently more successful than others in boosting college enrollment and completion.