Working Paper: NBER ID: w20645
Authors: Patrick L. Baude; Marcus Casey; Eric A. Hanushek; Steven G. Rivkin
Abstract: Studies of the charter school sector typically focus on head-to-head comparisons of charter and traditional schools at a point in time, but the expansion of parental choice and relaxation of constraints on school operations is unlikely to raise school quality overnight. Rather, the success of the reform depends in large part on whether parental choices induce improvements in the charter sector. We study quality changes among Texas charter schools between 2001 and 2011. Our results suggest that the charter sector was initially characterized by schools whose quality was highly variable and, on average, less effective than traditional public schools. However, exits from the sector, improvement of existing charter schools, and positive selection of charter management organizations that open additional schools raised average charter school effectiveness over time relative to traditional public schools. Moreover, the evidence is consistent with the belief that a reduction in student turnover as the sector matures, expansion of the share of charters that adhere to a No Excuses philosophy, and increasingly positive student selection at the times of both entry and reenrollment all contribute to the improvement of the charter sector.
Keywords: charter schools; school quality; educational reform; Texas; student turnover
JEL Codes: I21; I24; I28
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Closure of poorly performing charter schools (L33) | Improvement of charter school quality (I28) |
| New charter schools established (I28) | Higher value-added scores compared to those that closed (D29) |
| Reduction in student turnover (I21) | Improvement of charter school quality (I28) |
| Increase in the share of schools adhering to a no excuses philosophy (I24) | Improvement of charter school quality (I28) |
| Increased positive student selection at entry and reenrollment stages (I23) | Improvement of charter school quality (I28) |
| Closure of poorly performing charter schools (L33) | Closure of least effective schools (I21) |
| Schools remaining open throughout the decade (I29) | Increases in average value-added scores (O49) |