Learning from the Successes and Failures of Charter

The Hamilton Project September 2012

Roland G. Fryer, Jr. Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics Faculty Director, Innovation Laboratory Harvard The Need for Innovation

American public schools are in dire straits, with the nation performing poorly relative to other countries and failing to serve many of its most underprivileged and vulnerable students.

• Among 8th graders, 33 percent are proficient in reading and 34 percent are proficient in math • 48 percent of schools did not make AYP in 2010-11 • One in five H.S. graduates does not score high enough on the ASVAB to enlist in the Army • We spend the fourth most per pupil among OECD countries yet rank 25th in math, 17th in science, and 12th in reading

CONFIDENTIAL The Promises of Charter Schools

Charter schools are one of the most important innovations in education in the last half century. When originally conceived, they offered two distinct promises:

Escape Hatch • Give students and parents alternatives to failing schools

Incubators of Innovation • Use legal and financial freedoms to create and incubate new practices

CONFIDENTIAL Charter Performance

And while the average charter school is no better at raising student achievement than the average traditional public school…

Recent Results from Charter Schools 0.1 0.09* 0.06 0.04*

0 -0.01* -0.01 -0.03* Math -0.04 Reading -0.06 -0.1 NYC Charters ES/MS/HS National Sample 36 MS across 15 states 68 MS from 22 CMOs (Hoxby and Murarka ES/MS/HS (CREDO (Mathematica 2011) across 8 states 2009) 2010) (Mathematica 2012)

Notes: Solid bars represent experimental estimates. Striped bars represent quasi-experimental estimates. *Estimated effects are statistically significant at p<0.05

…some charter schools have availed themselves of their freedom to implement innovative educational practices and procedures.

CONFIDENTIAL Innovative Charter School Practices

Uncommon Schools • Taxonomy of classroom strategies Match Schools • Tutoring and development Success Charter Schools • Content knowledge as the key to rigor Rocketship Education • Blended learning stressing differentiation Excel Academy • Project-based learning to build non-academic skills

CONFIDENTIAL Harnessing Differences in Effectiveness

We collected an unprecedented amount of data from thirty-five charter schools in and correlated school practices with school effectiveness.

School Inputs and Practices, and School Effectiveness 1.00 0.93

0.79 0.80 0.75 0.75 0.70

0.59

0.50

0.25

0.01

Months ofSchooling Months 0.00

-0.25

-0.31 -0.41 -0.40 -0.50 -0.45

Average Correlation with Reading and Math Effectiveness

CONFIDENTIAL Demonstration Projects

We implemented the five correlates of high-performing charter schools in traditional public schools in and .

4

3.5

3

2.5

2 Math Reading 1.5

1 AdditionalMonths Schoolingof

0.5

0 Average NYC Harlem Children's Average KIPP Houston Year 1 Denver Year 1 Charter Zone (MS) (MS)

Results from demonstration projects in Houston and Denver are exciting but preliminary. The effects in math and reading are strikingly similar to those achieved by some of the best charter schools.

CONFIDENTIAL Long-Term HCZ Effects Preliminary Survey Findings

Based on preliminary findings from a survey of lottery applicants, the Harlem Children’s Zone has a significant impact on life outcomes as well.

College-Going Indicators Health Outcomes and Behaviors 0.6 100.00% 0.5 80.00% 0.4 60.00% 0.3 40.00% 0.2 20.00% 0.1 0.00% 0 Took SAT Accepted to No Anxiety Symptoms Health Outcome Index Nutrition Index

Woodcock Johnson Social Outcomes (Odds Ratios) (Cumulative Effects) 0 0.5 Pregnancy (Girls) Incarceration (Boys) -1 0.4 -2 0.3 -3 0.2 -4 0.1 -5 0 Math Reading -6

CONFIDENTIAL The Proposal: Scaling Up & Experimenting

• Evidence suggests that it is possible to inject the best practices of successful charter schools into traditional public schools and obtain results similar to those of America’s most lauded charter schools. That’s a start.

• It is essential to continue to evaluate and experiment with combinations of reforms.

• Let’s save three million kids by 2020.

• Only one question remains: Do we have the political will?

CONFIDENTIAL