“Public education has reached a crisis that frustrates and embitters many educators and parents, a more effective system will recognize and reward talent, expanding opportunities for committed educators and parents who want to create new kinds of public schools.” (Nathan. 1996, p83)

Since there are no easy solutions for improving schools and student learning, a need exists for many channels focused on education. Former United States Secretary of Education, Richard W. Riley expressed the need for reform, “We are committed to focusing on turning around troubled schools and undertaking comprehensive education reform that creates and sustains safe and high performing schools” (Riley. 1997, p8)

The Rand Report has found that “school choice advocates feel that charter schools will give parents more control over their children’s schooling, encourage innovation, and create competition that will force conventional public schools to improve” (Prekins-Gough. 2002 p90).

After a brief overview of the history of the charter school movement, I will take a look at the arguments that are held on both sides of this controversial debate. Finally, I will conclude with a short summary of the evidence that was gathered and presented for each side as well as some of my own conclusions.

RAND report analysts concluded in April that the evidence for or against charter schools is still inconclusive. “We simply don’t know yet whether charter schools will fulfill their advocates’ hopes or justify their critics’ fears. Our review of the evidence leaves us without a crisp, bottom line judgment of the wisdom of charter programs. More experience and rigorous research are needed to shed light on the beneficial or harmful effects of these reforms” (Prekins-Gough. 2002 p90).

“I’ll tell you what the problem is…it’s money…if the legislature thinks it’s important enough to have charter schools, we think they should fund them. If the legislature won’t fund an alternative school, why would they want us to have to approve something called a charter school to serve the same purpose?” (Egan. 2002 pA15).

As with any highly controversial issue, there are many sides to this argument and many people have something to contribute (either for or against) the development and widespread of charter schools as a method of public education reform. Advocates of charter schools boast that they are making a failing system work with innovative teaching methods, smaller class size, and the ultimate freedom from the state to create and implement an educational program designed especially for and by themselves to meet the unique and individual needs of its students (Strasser. 2000). On the other side, opponents of the charter school movement maintain that these schools are not making the grade; they take money, and ultimately students, away from public schools, they do not have to have their progress weighed against comparable public schools, and are too new…they are prone to failure (Egan 2002).

Some topics in this essay:
Richard Riley, Ms Dobosenski, Learning Strategies, Teachers Association, Ray Budde, Department Education, Education Week, Ericson Silverman, Robert Scarborough, Suellen Reed, charter schools, charter school, public schools, charter school movement, school movement, public education, public school, gewertz 2002, nathan 1996, egan 2002, education reform, charter schools offer, compared public schools, goals charter schools, traditional classroom setting,