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).
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.
Charter schools are public schools that operate: under a contract, or charter, between a public agency and groups of parents, school administrators, teachers, or others who want to create alternatives and choice within the public school system. The schools are free, open to all, and designed to be publicly accountable, as well as creative, flexible, and responsive to student/parent needs (United States Department of Education, 2000). .
The charter school movement began in the late 1960's, when parents and innovative educators were joining together to design education options for students. Congressional actions beginning in the mid 1970's that allocated funds to create magnet schools and the introduction in the late 1970's to alternative schools introduced choice into public education (OERI.1998). The term "charter school" was coined by Albert Shanier who influenced the American Federation of Teachers to endorse the idea at its 1988 annual convention Shanier was influenced by the wring of Ray Budde who used the metaphor of the "charter" denoting a document that forged an agreement (Nathan. 1996 p86). .
General characteristics of charter schools in operation are that most are smaller compared to other public schools, many have non-traditional grading systems, and most are newly created schools, yet some may have been preexisting public or private schools that converted to charter status.