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An Examination of Student Achievemnet in Michigan Charter Schools

In: Advances in Applied Microeconomics

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Abstract

Since their inception in 1991, the number of and the student enrollment in charter schools have burgeoned. However, little attention has been paid to their effects on student achievement. Proponents hypothesize direct and indirect positive impacts of charter schools on student achievement. The direct effect is through the restructuring of teaching and learning processes. The indirect effect operates through peer effects on learning and through the market forces of competition. This paper focuses on student achievement in charter schools in Michigan. The analyses presented here suggest that students attending charter schools in Michigan are not reaching the same levels of achievement as students in traditional public schools in the same districts. Using several different models to estimate the difference between test score levels of students attending charter schools versus those from traditional public schools in the same districts, we find that students attending a charter school scored around 2 to 4 percent lower on the state's mandatory fourth grade reading and math assessments; the fifth grade students in charter schools scored about 4 percent lower on the science test and about 6 to 9 percent lower on the writing test. The models control for student, building, and district characteristics. The results are robust to several different specifications. However, many caveats are in order. Test scores are imperfect indicators of achievement. Furthermore, while we examine test scores of individual students, we are able to control for student and teacher characteristics in only a limited way and some of our explanatory variables are based on aggregate building-level and district-level information. Nevertheless, our analyses suggest that despite the fact that charter schools have the ability to introduce competition and new innovations in the provision of education, the evidence from this study implies that they will need to make up considerable ground as they become mo
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Suggested Citation

  • Randall W. Eberts & Kevin Hollenbeck, 2006. "An Examination of Student Achievemnet in Michigan Charter Schools," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Timothy J. Gronberg & Dennis W. Jansen (ed.),Advances in Applied Microeconomics, volume 14, pages 103-130, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:upj:uchaps:rwekhelsev
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Caroline Minter Hoxby, 1996. "How Teachers' Unions Affect Education Production," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(3), pages 671-718.
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    Cited by:

    1. Helen F. Ladd, 2002. "School Vouchers: A Critical View," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 3-24, Fall.
    2. Susan Dynarski & Daniel Hubbard & Brian Jacob & Silvia Robles, 2018. "Estimating the Effects of a Large For-Profit Charter School Operator," NBER Working Papers 24428, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Randall W. Eberts & Kevin Hollenbeck, 2002. "Impact of Charter School Attendance on Student Achievement in Michigan," Upjohn Working Papers 02-80, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    4. Kukla-Acevedo, Sharon, 2009. "Do teacher characteristics matter? New results on the effects of teacher preparation on student achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 49-57, February.
    5. Luis Miguel Doncel & Jorge Sainz & Ismael Sanz, 2012. "An Estimation of the Advantage of Charter over Public Schools," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(4), pages 442-463, November.
    6. Chakrabarti, Rajashri & Roy, Joydeep, 2016. "Do charter schools crowd out private school enrollment? Evidence from Michigan," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 88-103.
    7. Chakrabarti, Rajashri & Roy, Joydeep, 2015. "Housing markets and residential segregation: Impacts of the Michigan school finance reform on inter- and intra-district sorting," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 110-132.
    8. Thomas A. Downes, 2002. "Do state governments matter?: a review of the evidence on the impact on educational outcomes of the changing role of the states in the financing of public education," Conference Series ; [Proceedings], Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, vol. 47(Jun), pages 143-180.
    9. Christopher Nelson & Kevin Hollenbeck, 2001. "Does Charter School Attendance Improve Test Scores?: Comments and Reactions on the Arizona Achievement Study," Upjohn Working Papers 01-70, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    charter schools; michigan; student achievement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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