Charter Schools Closing Achievement Gap for Hispanic Students, Research Finds

“A growing body of research is producing encouraging news about the performance of Hispanic students in public charter schools, according to an Issue Brief released today by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools at the Texas Charter School Conference in Houston.

“The evidence speaks for itself,” said Nelson Smith, president, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Charter schools are making significant progress and bringing new hope to Hispanic families who have been underserved by the traditional public school system.”

The report, authored by the Alliance’s Senior Policy Analyst Todd Ziebarth, points to four recent studies:

– Hispanic students in Massachusetts charter schools are overtaking peers in non-charters on state reading and math tests, according to a 2006 study by the Massachusetts Department of Education.

– A 2004 state-level study found Hispanic charter students in Florida start out farther behind, but exceed learning gains of non-charter students in reading.

– Charters in highly Hispanic areas hold a “proficiency advantage” over non-charter students on 4th grade reading and math tests, according to a 2005 national comparison.

– The most recent “Nation’s Report Card,” known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), found Hispanic 4th graders in charter schools outpace those in non- charters on national reading tests.

Additionally, some of the highest performing charters in the nation primarily serve Hispanic students, including IDEA Academy (Texas), Partnerships to Uplift Communities (California), Cesar Chavez Charter School (Colorado), and Octavio Paz Charter School (Illinois), each of which is profiled in the Issue Brief.

“The charter school movement demonstrates that innovation, freedom from red tape, and partnership between parents and educators can open doors for Hispanic students,” said Tony Colon, board member of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “We must continue to examine what’s working and what’s not so we may expand access to high-quality charter schools to more families.”

To ensure public charter schools continue to increase achievement for Hispanic youth, the Issue Brief outlines the following policy recommendations:

– Understand what works best for the various types of Hispanic and English language learner students

– Build capacity of Hispanic teachers, leaders and organizations

– Ensure access to capital, such as finances and facilities

– Fund the replication of charter schools that are successful with Hispanic students

– Collect better data about charter school student populations and results

The report, Signs of Promise: Hispanic Student Achievement in Charter Schools, is available on the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools web site at http://www.PublicCharters.org.”

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