There is no statistical evidence that charter schools are “pushing out” low-performing students at a rate higher than for regular public schools, according to a study published this month in the journal Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.
The study, by Ron W. Zimmer, an associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University, and Cassandra M. Guarino, an Indiana University associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies, examined six years of data from an anonymous large urban district with a significant number of charters.
The researchers conclude that although low-performing students do leave charter schools at a slightly higher rate than higher-performing ones, such patterns are consistent with student-exit rates in regular public schools nearby.
