FDOE: Charter School Students Outpace Public School Counterparts

Students in charter schools outpace their traditional public school counterparts on state assessments, according to a report released Tuesday from the Florida Department of Education.

This report clearly demonstrates that charter schools are a viable option for parents, Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson stated in a release.

Charter schools offer a wide range of educational environments to meet the needs of students and their families.

The report, "Student Achievement in Floridas Charter Schools: A Comparison with Achievement in Traditional Public Schools," used data from the 2010-2011 school year, comparing FCAT proficiency percentages, achievement gaps, and learning gains.

According to the FDOE, among the conclusions of the report:

• The FCAT proficiency section of the report contains 54 separate comparisons of student achievement using both overall rates of proficiency by grade groupings and comparisons of subgroup performance. In 50 of the 54 comparisons, charter school students outperformed traditional public school students.
• The achievement gap section contains both longitudinal and current data to analyze the gap between white students and African-American students, and white students and Hispanic students in reading, math and science. The achievement gap was smaller for charter school students in 16 of the 18 comparisons.
• The learning gains section of the report makes 96 comparisons of learning gains made by charter school students and traditional public school students. Charter school students had higher average learning gains in 79 of the 96 comparisons.

For more information, visit: https://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/pdf/Charter_Student_Achievement_2011....