Summary of Findings, Conclusions & Recommendations

Findings

 

Demographics

Traditional comprehensive public high schools in Philadelphia and charter high schools in Philadelphia serve very similar types of students in terms of race/ethnicity and eligibility for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) program. The following chart shows the total breakdown.

 

 

Enrollment

Charter high schools have an average enrollment of just 281 students, compared with over 1,919 at SDP high schools.   Some SDP high schools have over 3,000 students.  

Attendance

Attendance is better at charter high schools than SDP high schools: 87.4% attendance rate at charter schools versus 73.2% at traditional public high schools.   Attendance rate is defined using the statewide mathematical formula of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.  

Drop-out Rates

Drop-out rates reported to the State Department of Education show charter high schools have uniformly lower rates than the traditional public high schools: 2.9%+ for charter highs versus 12.9% for SDP schools.   Drop-out rate is defined as the number of secondary students that left school before graduation without transferring to another school or institution.

Test Scores

Scaled PSSA scores are reported for grade 9 writing, grade 11 math and grade 11 reading. Scores were reported for all 22 traditional public comprehensive high schools in the City. Due to the differing grade levels served by the charter high schools, scores were reported for 16 of the 18 charters on grade 9 writing, and 14 of the 18 on grade 11 reading and grade 11 math.   The charter high school median score1 on the PSSA tests was better than the District high school median score on all subjects and all grades for the PSSA.   The PSSA tested 9th grade writing and 11th grade math, reading and writing.  

The results on the TerraNova were similar.   Charter high schools had better TerraNova scores than SDP high schools.   The charter high school median score was better than the District high school median score on all four TerraNova tests: reading, language, math and science.

At least one charter high school performed better on each grade and subject of the PSSA than all of the District high schools.   Many charter high schools performed better on all subjects and grades of the TerraNova than District high schools.   When examined by region , charter high schools often had better scores on the standardized test than their District counterparts.  

Top Performing High Schools by Region

Special Education

Many Philadelphia charter high schools have lower proportions of special education students than their traditional public school counterparts. The two main theories for these differences are: 1) charter schools are "counseling out" special education students during the enrollment process (though the charters receive a greater per student allotment for special education students, special education students are more expensive to educate); 2) families of special education students are less likely to change their child's educational environment because these changes can be more difficult for their children. The evidence for both theories is anecdotal. There is an inherent tension between a charter school's specialized mission and its obligation to serve all students. There is one charter school in Pennsylvania dedicated to serving students with special needs, Spectrum Charter School in Allegheny County, which educates children with autism.  

Wait Lists

Providing more choice is both one of the goals of the Philadelphia Secondary Education Reform program and of the federal No Child Left Behind law. Philadelphia's charter high schools offer choice to students and families from throughout the City. Charter school enrollment at the Philadelphia charter high schools has reached a point where it is difficult to add any more students (due to facilities constraints – lack of space – or other challenges that come with rapid growth). All but four schools reported a wait list during the 2001-2002 school year.   Over 5,000 students were on waiting lists for charter high schools that academic year.   This figure includes the significantly higher wait list of 3,000 students at Math, Civics and Sciences Charter School.

 

Conclusion

Philadelphia charter high schools are realizing many of the SDP's secondary education reform goals. These charter schools are uniformly much smaller than their counterpart neighborhood comprehensive high schools. They are offering real choice to hundreds of students and families, while serving a population that is similar to traditional public high schools. The charter schools have done this while equaling or surpassing several objective indicators of success, when compared to neighborhood public high schools. These indicators are attendance and drop out rates, and test scores.

The charter high schools can serve as a guide for the new public high schools to be created under the SDP's reform plan. Creating a new school from the ground up poses significant challenges. The SDP could benefit from the experience of the people who have launched charter high schools in the past five years. The SDP can also integrate the charter high schools more fully into the choices available to students and families by publicizing these programs along with the other traditional public school choices offered, now and in the near future.

 

Recommendations

We urge the SDP to revisit recommendations on integrating charter schools made in the past.   In 2001, GPUAC and the Pennsylvania Economy League (PEL) produced Meeting the Challenge: Managing the Fiscal Impact of Charter Schools in Pennsylvania, a report on the fiscal impact of charter schools.   Three basic recommendations were made to the SDP:

•  Increase the ability of the SDP to integrate charter schools into the basic fabric of the SDP.

•  Improve transition process for students moving from non-public and public schools to charter schools.

•  Improve the management of resources allocated to charters by the SDP.

 

The SDP has made significant strides in meeting the goals set out by GPUAC and PEL, most significantly through the creation of the Office of Charter and EMO (privately managed) Schools.   Yet:

•  Charter schools are not included in SDP publications.

•  The SDP does not monitor the movement of students enrolling in and leaving charter schools, or transitioning from 8 th grade to a 9 th grade charter school.  

•  The SDP does share some services with charter schools, such as standardized testing, and is working to share more.   They are also looking into offering other SDP resources to charter schools on an at-cost basis, including professional development and curriculum materials.   More of this collaboration should be encouraged.

 

GPUAC recommends that the SDP implement the following recommendations:

•  Charter high schools should be recognized by the SDP as meeting its Reform Plan goals; and be fully integrated into the SDP's vision and plan.   Those that perform well should be helped by the SDP to grow their model and/or enrollment.

•  Expand the number of "slots" for charter high school students by expanding the number of charter high schools approved. Families want more choice in where they send their children.   The wait lists for charter schools are indicative of this.   The SDP should foster the development of more charter high schools to meet demand.  

•  Include information on charter high schools in SDP publications so that parents can be made aware of all public education options open to them. By including charter high schools in SDP publications, the SDP can present to students and their families all of the choices available to them in public education, and convey that charter schools are an important part of public education in the SDP.

•  The SDP and charter schools should work together to send the message that charter schools can fulfill the needs of children with special needs in the same way traditional public schools do. Charter high schools can and do serve special needs students.   However, many families may not be aware that these options are available.   Charters should reach out to families of special needs students, and the SDP should let families know that all public schools are to serve those with special needs.

•  All Philadelphia public schools – be they traditional, magnet, charter or privately managed – should be held to the same accountability standards, review and renewal process.   As traditional high schools are reformed and made smaller, they should be replaced with a blend of public school options, offering maximum choice to families.   Philadelphia public schools that fail to perform - regardless of type - should be phased out.   Under current law and policy, only charter and privately managed public schools are up for renewal and subject to possible closure.

1- The median is the middle test score in the range of test scores for the schools.