University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Master of Public Policy Capstone Projects 2018-06-04 Charter Schools and Educational Diversity in Alberta: Assessing the success of Alberta charter schools and the potential for expansion in Alberta and other Canadian provinces MacPherson, Paige T. MacPherson, P.T. (2018). Charter Schools and Educational Diversity in Alberta: Assessing the success of Alberta charter schools and the potential for expansion in Alberta and other Canadian provinces (Unpublished master's project). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/109311 master thesis Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY CAPSTONE PROJECT Charter Schools and Educational Diversity in Alberta Assessing the success of Alberta charter schools and the potential for expansion in Alberta and other Canadian provinces Submitted by: PaigeApproved T. MacPherson by Supervisor: Dr. Tom Flanagan Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of PPOL 623 and completion of the requirements for the Master of Public Policy degree [i] Acknowledgements Dr. Tom Flanagan, thank you for your support, patience, wisdom and sense of humour throughout the writing of this Capstone project. I am so grateful to have worked with you. Thank you, Charles, for piquing my interest in educational choice and the opportunity for students of all income levels to access schools that fit their learning needs. My sincere thanks to the Fraser Institute for providing me with the Provincial Achievement Test score data required for my analysis. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Peter Cowley for donating his time and care in both making this data available to me and answering my questions. Deani Van Pelt co-authored a few of the reports referenced, and her guidance on this topic has also been of great value. [iii] Table of Contents INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................................1 ALBERTA CHARTER SCHOOLS: THE BASICS.................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN ALBERTA AN OVERVIEW OF ALBERTA’S CURRENT CHARTER SCHOOLS....................................................................................................................................................... 74 KLEIN GOVERNMENT’S BROADER EDUCATION REFORMS ............................................................................................... 7 CRITICISMS AND CONTROVERSY POLITICAL MOTIVATIONS............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1311 DEBATES WITHIN THE LEGISLATURE ................................................................................................................................13 PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN PUBLIC CLOTHING?........................................................................................................................16 FUNDING ELITISM AND................................EQUITY .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2017 THE BIG PICTURE..................................................................................................................................................................20 ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE MEASURES: HOW DO CHARTER SCHOOLS MEASURE THE FUNDING OF CHARTER SCHOOLS...............................................................................................................................21 UP?........................................................................................................................................................................... 24 ENROLLMENT AN ANALYSIS OF P................................ROVINCIAL ACHIEVEMENT................................TEST SCORE................................DATA.................................................................................................................................3427 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................................... 39 BARRIERS FACING ALBERTA CHARTER SCHOOLS ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS WITHIN ALBERTA’S TRADITIONAL PUBLIC................................SCHOOLS........................................................................................ 4441 REGULATORY BARRIERS ......................................................................................................................................................44 POLITICAL BARRIERS ...........................................................................................................................................................46 FUNDING BARRIERS..............................................................................................................................................................47 CHARTER SCHOOLS BEYOND ALBERTA PRACTICAL BARRIERS TO CHARTER SCHOOL SUCCESS............................................................................................................................................................................................4948 THE POTENTIAL FOR EXPANDING CHARTER SCHOOLS INTO OTHER CANADIAN CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES VS. CHARTER SCHOOLS IN ALBERTA ...................................................49 JURISDICTIONS ............................................................................................................................................... 55 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................................... 57 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ..............................................................................................................................................57 [iv] REFERENCES..................................................................................................................................................... 60 APPENDIX THE VARYING DEGREES OF SCHOOL CHOICE IN CANADA ......................... 69 BRITISH COLUMBIA...............................................................................................................................................................73 ALBERTA.................................................................................................................................................................................74 SASKATCHEWAN....................................................................................................................................................................76 MANITOBA..............................................................................................................................................................................78 ONTARIO.................................................................................................................................................................................78 QUEBEC...................................................................................................................................................................................79 NEW BRUNSWICK .................................................................................................................................................................81 NOVA SCOTIA.........................................................................................................................................................................81 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ....................................................................................................................................................82 NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR.....................................................................................................................................83 [v] Capstone Executive Summary Charter schools have been operating in Alberta for over twenty years, yet their growth has been limited in the province and the model has not expanded to the rest of Canada. Functioning as autonomous, government-funded, non-profit schools which charge no tuition – each offering a unique educational approach and performing independent research – charter schools represent an innovative model of public education. An analysis of provincial enrollment data shows charter school enrollment is growing relative to total school age population in Alberta, and anecdotal evidence shows strong parental demand for charter schools. An analysis of grade six and nine Provincial Achievement Test (PAT) score data in Alberta between 1997/98 and 2016/17 shows that charter schools on average almost always outperform all other types of schools – notably outperforming independent schools – while operating at a much lower cost to government than traditional public schools. When broken down school by school, it has been shown that charter schools achieve consistently high average PAT scores, and the few charter schools that fall below the traditional public school average scores have shown steady improvement over time. Yet, the provincially mandated cap on the number of schools in the