Do Charters Skim?

Do charters skim the best students?

“…Skimmers. Nice piece of rhetoric for those who want to take choices away from parents. Let’s not fall for it.” [ One of Bob Dunton’s Blogs on 8/29/2010 ]

The Truth is…

” Dunton didn’t advertise the charter school, hoping that the 100 out-of-district students would all make it in. All of them did, as well as 245 other students. Many of those new students were home-schooled or enrolled in private schools before, but 17 are from the Reynolds School District. ” [ Oregonian Article 4/12/2009 ]

” The student populations of ESL, special education, and free-or-reduced-lunch-eligible students in charter schools are miniscule compared to traditional schools. These student populations do not score as well as the general student population, so it is intellectually dishonest to point to test scores on the IRI, ISAT and other tests and say charter schools are doing a better job of educating their students. Further, as you well know, students whose parents are more active in their education almost universally outperform students whose parents are more passive, or do not participate in their children’s education. Parents who choose to enroll their children in charter schools are obviously more active and interested in their children’s education, so it only naturally follows that charter school student achievement will be higher.” [ “Choice in Education” 2/23/2010 Comment ]