Child Achievement Gap

Public education has had a negative effect on students; it’s often because of the bigger class sizes, poor test scores, and high crime in the surrounding areas. Public schools need to revise their system to determine what’s the best fit for their student’s educational needs. All children who live in a school district have a right to attend a district school. Many parents would like more options and opportunities for their child, and would like to be involved in their child’s education. Charter schools are part of the answer for a better educational choice for children’s academic achievement. Charter schools have many successful methods and continue to pave the way for children’s education needs .

In like a manner, Charter schools improve the learning environments for students and help improve focus on learning and achievement. To a direct quote from the RAND Corporation, “Charter schools are publicly funded schools that operate outside direct school district control and are intended to provide educational choice to families, reduce bureaucratic constraints on educators and provide competitive pressure to conventional public schools.” Which however signifies, Charter schools adapted to student’s specific needs and abilities, as well as offer individualized choices and alternative pathways in the educational system. For a counterargument, Opponents to school choice argue that “test scores alone may not fully measure the benefits of charter schools for their students.” For more reasoning of charter schools, the existences of charter schools, improved specific, or challenging curriculum offerings could also serve to increase the competition between traditional and charter public schools. Increase flexibility for staff and teachers could “reduce bureaucratic constraints on educators.” The environment in charter schools is more socially supportive, and is less prone to

Charter schools are an alternative to public schools. Whether this alternative is a better solution to the public schools is the argument. Public schools can be just as creative as charter schools. Public schools are funded by our tax dollars, which ultimately the United States Government decides where those funds go. Education should be the last thing to be cut in the budget, but unfortunately, we the people do not have a choice other than the public offices whom we hope will do what they have said in their election speeches. Charter schools have come about to fill the gap that public schools cannot fill. They can gear their curriculum to student needs, where some public schools cannot because of funding cuts.

Charter schools are unique public schools that is allowed the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. These charter schools are not private schools, they do not charge for tuition and they are open to all children within specific boundaries. Research has demonstrated that charter schools make picks up in the urban community with students who have veritably been undeserved by traditional state funded schools. Charter schools outscored their traditional school peers in 25 of the 41 cities in math, and 23 of the 42 cities in reading. On average, charter schools had no significant impacts on student’s achievement. Charter schools help enhance student learning, empower the utilization of new and imaginative educating strategies, and give schools an approach to move from a lead based to an execution based arrangement of responsibility. Public schools are like charter schools except for the freedom that a charter school has. And private school is based on tuition and that is funded by charities and tax holders in that community.

There are a number of ways that charter schools give parents greater individual control over their childrens’ education. No longer is a child bound to attend a particular school based on the geographical location of his or her home. Parents have the freedom to select a charter school that they feel would best suit the needs of their children1. Parents also have a greater say in the affairs of charter schools compared to public schools. In many instances, parents serve on the “board of education” governing the charter school, a board whose context is determined by a school’s charter and not state law. This contrasts with the traditional public school board that is limited to seven members elected from the community-at-large, regardless of whether board members have children in school. Moreover, a charter school board is entirely occupied with the operations of just one school instead of an entire district. Charter school supporters argue that this leads to less bureaucracy and greater efficiency in creating school policy that ultimately benefits students.

According to Atila Abdulkadiroglu, many have adopted a “No Excuses” policy which is generally characterized by smaller sized classrooms, frequent testing, longer school days and more school days in the year, selective teacher hiring, strong student work ethic, and include an increased emphasis on discipline (Abdulkadiroglu 699-700). Charter Schools also expect a certain amount of parent participation: either in-classroom assistance, being an active component in the Parent-Teacher Organization, volunteering assistance with fund-raising activities, or wherever else the school may have need. Therefore, sending a child to a Charter School usually requires a significant investment of time and effort from the parents as well: for example, the school may not be able to provide transportation, hot lunches (meaning lunch must be packed every day), and whatever the school may expect in parent participation. Entrance into many of these acclaimed Charter Schools is not always that easy. There are frequently many, many students applying for just a few spots available. These schools typically employ a lottery system which gives each student an equal chance; however, there are just not enough spots available for all the students who wish to attend—someone always loses. In comparison, Public Schools are restricted by a massive hierarchy of educational bureaucracy: they must answer to

Charter schools differ from traditional public schools on three basic principles: accountability, choice and autonomy. Charter schools are held accountable for their ability to educate students, management of finances and handle operations. If they do not meet the guidelines established by the charter they are closed. They give families a choice as to what school their children will attend. Finally, charter schools have more autonomy than traditional public schools. They are able to make their own decisions regarding curriculum and school governance and can focus on academic achievement instead of bureaucracy. (“Resistance Hinders Success,” 2004)

Charter schools are all the buzz in the media lately; they are what seems to be the sensible response to the path traditional public schools are heading, down the drain. However, charter schools still face many obstacles and issues, stemming from the fact that they are far less regulated than their public school counterparts. This enacts issues including lack of quality control, increased segregation, and severe misuse of funds. Likewise, charter schools are only going to become increasingly more competitive and higher quality if their closest competitors follow that path, meaning the most successful charters are the ones compared directly to private schools. Since charters are also attempting to make a profit, they will go to all extents, including discrimination to bring up the scores, and therefore gain more leverage in negotiating for more funds. Simply enough, the most logical and simple way to prevent charter schools from degrading in quality or becoming out of control is to put more regulation on them, while still allowing them to maintain many characteristics of an independent charter.

One of the reasons we consider or support charter schools is there is good chance that it could be one the things that will improve student's education achievements. Lots parents believe that it has enormous potential to improve achievement. We have seen that the competition

As I read about the achievement gap (Taylor), I felt a sense of despair. Families of color are positioned between a rock and a hard place. When children enter kindergarten, the racial gap is half of its ultimate size because many children of color do not participate in high-quality programs. How can people of color "catch up" to their counterparts when they are behind at the age of 5? There are also institutional factors that continue this achievement gap and perpetuate racism by consequence. After Brown v Board of Education (1954), white families enrolled their children in private and suburban schools. Since school busing has been discontinued, school assignments based on residential neighborhoods have created racially segregated schools.

Charter schools offer much more than public schools do, like smaller classrooms and extended one-on-one time. Charter schools are “independent entities that have received a charter, which is a set of self-written rules (and promises) about how the school will be structured and run” (Pascual, 2016, The Truth About Charter Schools). This means that they have their own rules that work for the children and meet their individual needs. The schools could change the rules, as generations change, to accommodate different students. With the unity and numbers of millennials, charter schools could be known as the best type of schools for students to succeed in future colleges and jobs. In my essay I will back up Cahn and Cahns’ prediction that millennials have what it takes to make it well known that charter schools are the best schools.

The issue with identifying a single problem with the American education system is the extreme complexity of it. There are a number of factors that play into a student’s success. These factors include, but aren’t limited to: economic background, home life, teachers, family emphasis on education, administration, curriculum, and extracurricular activities. The film most often blames teachers for the prevailing problems with the education system. Most critics are quick to tell you that this is wrong; however one should not dismiss this idea so quickly. According to a study conducted by a Stanford economist named Eric Hanushek, teachers are accountable for up to twenty percent of a student’s success. Diane Ravitch, author of “The Myth of Charter Schools,” leads her readers to believe that this should absolve teachers from any wrongdoing. However, twenty percent is a considerable number, accounting for one fifth of a student’s success. Despite the numbers, teachers are an intricate part of the learning process. A great teacher can make or break you in the long run of really understanding the course

Students in charter schools has their education results improved significantly compares to the others who are going to public schools. Charter schools, like public schools, receive public funding. These school are

A benefit of placing charter schools in a school district is school choice. Parents appear to support the option of deciding where their children attend school. According to Andy Smarick, “In New York, 12,000 students are on charter wait lists; in Massachusetts 19, 000; in Pennsylvania 27,000” (2008). Additionally, an Annual Survey of America’s Charter Schools 2010 notes that an average of 239 children is on a waiting list to enter each charter school in America, which is a 21% surge since last year (Center for Education Reform, 2010). These studies indicate the importance of school choice to parents and their desire to enroll their children in charter schools. Another example that shows parental demand for charter schools comes from The Evaluation of Charter School Impacts a study published in June 2009 by the United States Department of Education. The study showed parents of charter school students were more satisfied with their children’s academic achievement and social development compared to parents of students in traditional school setting.

The American education system and its public institutions are slowly changing. What used to be a public institution is pushed to be a “publicly funded, but privately managed” system, also known as charter schools. The problem with charter schools development is due to the lack of enforcement is the results of insufficient measure of transparency and accountability. Due to the lack of oversight the public have over charter schools, this leads to many cases of fraud and abuse and no guarantee of academic advancement. Examples could be found in the lack of coherent data on the improvement of students performance, and case of fraud, both financially and academically, in many charter schools all over the nations. This overdue dispute raises concerning questions of what is the right and satisfying solution for the issue and how to guide state legislators and communities toward public accountability and transparency for charter schools.