Are charter schools really about choice?

An analytical review of privatization rhetoric in education

Discussions about school choice in Ontario have received significant media attention, especially since the election of a Conservative government in 2018. Recently, the disruptions in learning due to school closures as a result of COVID-19 as well as pre-pandemic labour disputes have sparked some critics to offer charter schools as a solution to improve educational outcomes for students in Ontario.8;10;12;18 Charter schools have also been offered as a way for low- income to middle-income families to exercise choice in the education their child receives. What exactly are these schools? Charter schools are publicly funded, but differ from public schools because they are independently operated and therefore do not have to follow the same regulations as public schools. Charter schools follow a “charter” that they must uphold. The charter is essentially the school-specific program the province approves, and it is what makes the school unique, allowing it to offer programming that is supposedly distinct. Alberta is the only province to currently have charter schools in Canada. Provincial legislation was enacted in 1994 in Alberta to permit two charter school authorities in the province.1

Examples of charter schools in Alberta include the “Suzuki Charter School” in Edmonton which delivers music instruction using the Suzuki method and “Mother Earth’s Children’s Charter School” which focuses on traditional Indigenous teachings. While schools such as these sound a lot like alternative schools in Ontario, they are distinctly different because they do not report to the local school board, but directly to the provincial ministry. Thus, charter schools are not accountable to publicly elected trustees. They are basically publicly funded private schools that can essentially pick and choose the students that they want through an application process, and which often include hidden fees for registration or programming. More information on the Alberta charter school experience can be found in Heather Ganshorn’s 2023 article from this publication’s spring 2023 issue.5

In Ontario, critics of the public system have suggested that charter schools can improve educational outcomes for students and can even be a solution to declining provincial math test scores.12 But is there any evidence to support this claim? Do students at charter schools outperform their public school counterparts? The answer is not so simple. Even those who argue in favour of charter schools in Ontario admit to the limitations of comparing test scores of charter school students to that of public school students.11 For example, 17% of Alberta’s charter school students attend a school for gifted learners while less than 1% of students attend schools for at-risk youth.17 Catering schools to gifted learners will have obvious positive effects on test scores. Moreover, if gifted students are opting out of public schools to attend charter schools, this will clearly have negative impacts on public school rankings.17 Johnson indicates that a possible explanation why charter schools may outperform public, separate, and private schools on standardized tests is because “they are able to select the best students out of other schools and reject weaker applicants.”7 Charter schools also do not have to make accommodations for students with special education needs, as their special status enables them to bypass parts of the Education Act that ensures appropriate accommodations are made for students with disabilities.

Charter schools are also often advertised as a way for low-income to middle-income families to exercise choice over the education their children receive.12 Yet, data has shown that charter school attendees in Alberta come from the wealthiest socioeconomic groups. For example, the median socioeconomic scores for a charter school in Alberta is 1.3 while it is 3.1 for public and separate schools.13 This is not surprising given that parents have to pay supplemental fees for attending charter schools even though they are advertised as being tuition-free. A school such as Alberta Classical Academy charges a required resource fee of $265 per year for a student from grade 1 to 8 and a transportation/busing fee of $975 per year. In addition to these fees, there is also the high cost of uniforms. Riep writes that “the list of supplemental fees associated with attending a charter school make them cost-prohibitive for many learners, and represent hidden impediments to real choice.”17 Thus, in Alberta charter schools may be sites of segregation based on wealth. Data on the racial composition of charter school attendees in Alberta is not available.

If we look to our neighbours to the south where charter schools abound, there is little evidence that the presence of charter schools serves to level the playing field for students. Like in Alberta, we see different types of segregation emerging due to how charter schools attract and select students. Evidence from the U.S. shows that charter schools increase racial segregation.14 Data from diverse cities like New York City (NYC) actually show high levels of school racial segregation. Di Carlo and colleagues examine data from NYC and show an overrepresentation of Black and Hispanic students in charter schools and an underrepresentation of White and Asian students.4 The authors found that while only 9.1% of NYC students attend a charter school, 54.2% of charter school attendees are Black, followed by 38.9% being Hispanic students. In contrast only 4.5% of charter school attendees are white and 2.4% are Asian.

Attending highly segregated schools has adverse effects on health and well-being for Black children.19 However, attending segregated schools does not have the same effects on white children. Hahn found that attending a segregated school results in lower rates of high school graduation among the U.S. Black population, which is then associated with reduced life expectancy of about 9 years.6 Apart from the effects of segregation, charter schools in the U.S. also have higher overall suspension rates than non-charter schools and disproportionately suspend Black students and students with disabilities at a rate much higher than their non-charter counterparts.9 Black students in charter schools are suspended at rates higher than any other race.6 This is far from leveling the playing field. In fact, the NAACP has called for a moratorium on charter school expansion.15

Charter schools have increased pressure to achieve and maintain high test scores. Low test scores literally put a charter school at risk of closure. As such, charter schools in the U.S. have been found to prevent students with disabilities from enrolling in order to maintain high test scores.16 Strategies to dissuade students with disabilities include, “not providing the services mandated in Individual Education Plans (IEP), by repeatedly over-disciplining students with disabilities, and by advising families of children with disabilities that their student will be better served elsewhere.”16

Perhaps even more pertinent to the current argument, American charter schools, despite how long they have been in existence, have also not resulted in significantly better academic outcomes. The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) found no differences in reading and math scores between students who attend charter schools and those who attend public schools.20 Moreover, other research has shown that charter schools actually widen the achievement gap between Black and white students.2

While the situation in the U.S. seems bleak, charter schools are advertised as being able to offer parents in Ontario choice over the schools their children attend. However, evidence seems to suggest that charter schools more so offer schools a choice in which students they can admit and serve to exacerbate existing inequalities all under the guise of choice.

 

NOTES
1. Alberta Education (n.d.). Alberta Schools and Authorities. https://education.alberta.ca/alberta-education/school-authority-index/everyone/alberta-schools/
2. Bifulco, R., & Ladd, H.F. (2007). School Choice, Racial Segregation, and Test-Score Gaps: Evidence from North Carolina’s Charter School Program. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 26(1), 31–56.
3. Carwin, M. (2018). The charter school network: The disproportionate discipline of Black students. The City University of New York Law Review, 21(1), 49-59.
4. Di Carlo, M., Di Carlo, K.W., Fenelon, E., Flood, K., Milborn, E., & Rodriguez, C. (2021). Public and private school segregation in New York City. Albert Shanker Institute. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED613612.pdf
5. Ganshorn, H. (2022, November 8). Undermining public education. Education Forum. https://education-forum.ca/2022/11/08/undermining-public-education/
6. Hahn, R. A. (2022). School segregation reduces life expectancy in the U.S. Black population by 9 years. Health Equity, 6(1), 270-277.
7. Johnson, D. (2013). Identifying Alberta’s best schools. C.D. Howe Institute. https://www.cdhowe.org/sites/default/files/attachments/research_papers/mixed/e-brief_164_0.pdf
8. Lilley, B. (2022, November 4). Strike shows it’s time to consider school choice and vouchers. Toronto Sun.
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-strike-shows-its-time-to-consider-school-choice-and-vouchers
9. Losen, D.J., Keith II, M.A., Hodson, C.L., & Martinez, T.E. (2016). Charter schools, civil rights and school discipline: A comprehensive review. The Civil Rights Project. https://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies/school-to-prison-folder/federal-reports/charter-schools-civil-rights-and-school-discipline-a-comprehensive-review/
10. MacPherson, P. (2018a, November 8). CUPE strike underscores need for school choice in Ontario. Financial Post. https://financialpost.com/opinion/cupe-strike-school-choice-ontario-education
11. MacPherson, P. (2018b). An untapped potential for educational diversity: Policy lessons from Alberta charter schools. Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. https://www.aims.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AIMS-18004_AlbertaCharter_SP2418_F2.pdf
12. MacPherson, P. (2022, November 16). Here’s what school choice in Ontario could look like for parents. Fraser Institute. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/heres-what-school-choice-in-ontario-could-look-like-for-parents
13. Magusiak, S. (2023, April 27). New data shows Danielle Smith’s education plan benefits wealthiest socioeconomic households. Press Progress. https://pressprogress.ca/new-data-shows-danielle-smiths-education-plan-benefits-wealthiest-socioeconomic-households/
14. Monarrez, T., Kisida, B., & Chingos, M. (2022). The Effect of Charter Schools on School Segregation. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14(1), 301-340.
15. NAACP. (2016). Calling for moratorium on charter school expansion and strengthening of oversight in governance and practice. https://naacp.org/resources/calling-moratorium-charter-school-expansion-and-strengthening-oversight-governance-and
16. NYC Charter Schools. (n.d.). Education for everyone? Charter schools and disability. https://raceandschools.barnard.edu/charterschools/disabilities/
17. Riep, C. (2020). Privatizing public choice: The past, present, and future of charter schools in Alberta. Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta.

Click to access PrivatizingPublicChoice-ThePastPresentandFutureofCharteSchoolsinAlberta.pdf

18. Selley, C. (2022, December 8). School choice is easy to oppose, when you have it. National Post.
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-school-choice
19. Wang, G., Schwartz, G.L., Kim, M.H., White, J.S., Glymour, M.M., Reardon, S., Kershaw, K.N., Gomez, S.L., Inamdar, P.P., & Hamad, R. (2022). School Racial Segregation and the Health of Black Children. Pediatrics, 149(5), e2021055952.
20. Whalen, A. (2019, September 26). Charter shool and public school students have same academic performance, report finds. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/charter-schools-vs-public-schools-funding-test-scores-performance-1461659