[lbo-talk] Recipe for "privatizing" schools

Jordan Hayes jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com
Tue Nov 10 13:12:57 PST 2009


Doug writes:


>> After reading all about this dustup, I think your original point of
>> putting the CREDO results out there as "Charter schools don't work"
>> is (very) wrong
>
> Their own conclusion says: "And yet, this study reveals in
> unmistakable terms that, in the aggregate, charter students are not
> faring as well as their TPS [traditional public school] counterparts.
> Further, tremendous variation in academic quality among charters is
> the norm, not the exception. The problem of quality is the most
> pressing issue that charter schools and their supporters face."

Yes, I'm in agreement with CREDO (FWIW, I think they've done some excellent work; I think this particular study has been roundly misunderstood): some charter schools are worse than others, and among them, some are worse than traditional schools.

That was not *your* point.

*Your* point was: "They (charter schools) don't work" ...

Clearly false, and clearly a misrepresentation of CREDO's position.


> Hoxby is an intense right-wing partisan of charter schools.

CREDO doesn't seem to have the problem with Hoxby that you do:

Dr. Hoxby's research and ours have shown the strong potential

of well-run charters operating in a favorable policy and authorizer

environment, even if those narrow results do not reflect the full

population of charter schools. Our research, given its national

scope, asks a broader performance question and holds the charter

movement at large to account. We seek to hold accountable those

schools that are unwilling or unable to improve and thus put the

entire charter movement atrisk. In this sense, there is no reason

to presume that CREDO's research and that of Dr. Hoxby are in

disagreement; in many respects they are complementary. We at

CREDO continue to aim to find what works for students, parents

and policymakers. CREDO welcomes continued dialogue on these

important matters with Dr. Hoxby as well as the rest of the

national research community.

/jordan



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