A GROWING MOVEMENT: AMERICA’S LARGEST CHARTER …

[Pages:17]A GROWING MOVEMENT: AMERICA'S LARGEST CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL COMMUNITIES AND THEIR IMPACT ON STUDENT OUTCOMES

ELEVENTH ANNUAL EDITION NOVEMBER 2016

C harter public schools are the fastestgrowing choice option in U.S. public education. Charter schools are unique public schools that are allowed the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Over the past five years, student enrollment in charter schools has grown by 62 percent. Nearly 2.9 million students now attend charter schools-- representing more than 6 percent of all public school students nationwide. The number of districts with a significant charter school presence continues to grow--with 17 districts now having 30 percent or more of their students enrolled in charter schools, and 190 districts with at least 10 percent of their students enrolled in charter schools. Due to a successful track record of meeting students' specific needs, parental demand for charter schools is at an all-time high.

This rapid rate of growth should come as no surprise. For 25 years, the charter school movement has been a leader in innovation, school choice, and education reform. By unleashing an environment of creativity in states and communities, charter schools have demonstrated that all children are capable of academic achievement that prepares them to succeed in college, their career, and their life.

Charter schools have led efforts to eliminate achievement gaps, boost graduation rates, and revitalize communities.

In addition, charter school enrollment growth can help improve the overall quality of the public school system. The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University recently conducted a study on the competitive effects of charter schools within the District of Columbia. CREDO found that charter school competition prompted the largest response when charter school quality is above average and the district's enrollment is stable or declining.1

For the past 11 years, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (National Alliance) has tracked charter school enrollment growth. This report identifies communities that have the highest percentage and the highest number of students enrolled in charter schools. This year, for the first time, the National Alliance is also providing data on the academic performance of students attending charter schools in communities with a large charter school enrollment share.

When families have public school choice, they increasingly select charter schools over district-run schools. In fact, a recent national

survey commissioned by the National Alliance shows that 78 percent of parents support having a charter school open in their neighborhood.2

The National Alliance collected public school enrollment data for the 2015-16 school year to identify communities across the country where the highest proportions of students were enrolled in charter schools. To calculate these proportions, charter schools were mapped to geographic school district boundaries based on their address.3 This report compares the enrollment of charter schools located within geographic school district boundaries with district-run schools in the same area--resulting in "enrollment share."

1 Edward J. Cremata and Margaret E. Raymond. (March 1, 2014). Competitive Effects of Charter Schools: Evidence from the District of Columbia." CREDO. Stanford University. ( web/rossierphd/publications/14/DC%20Competitive%20Impacts%20-%20Working%20Paper.pdf).

2 "New National Survey Shows 78% of Parents Support Charter Schools Opening in Their Neighborhood," National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (April 28, 2016). ().

3 This analysis is performed based on geographic school district boundaries and does not take into account what entity authorizes the school.

DISTRICTS WITH A SIGNIFICANT CHARTER SCHOOL PRESENCE

190 44 17 6

10%+ 20%+ 30%+ 40%+

3

50%+

Additional district- and school-level data can be found on the National Alliance's Public Charter School Dashboard

2

().

Districts with the Highest Share of Charter School Enrollment

When this report was first published, only one district--New Orleans, Louisiana--had more than 30 percent of their students enrolled in charter schools. Ten years later, 17 districts have at least 30 percent of their students attending charter schools.

Michigan Has Two Districts with Greater than 50 Percent Charter School Enrollment Share Charter schools have been enrolling more than 50 percent of public school students in Detroit, Michigan since 2012-13. In 2015-16, however, the charter school enrollment share topped 50 percent for Flint, Michigan for the first time--representing a 6 percentage point increase in enrollment share over the previous year. Together, Detroit and Flint both ranked second among districts with the highest percentage of students enrolled in charter schools. It should be noted that overall

enrollment in public schools in Detroit and Flint has been declining, which accounts for some of the increase in enrollment share.

Six Districts Have at Least 40 Percent Charter School Enrollment Share Since 2014-15, the share of students who attend charter schools has remained at 40 percent or more in six districts. In 2015-16, New Orleans, Louisiana ranked first (92 percent); Detroit and Flint ranked second (53 percent); the District of Columbia ranked third (45 percent); Gary, Indiana ranked fourth (43 percent); Kansas City, Missouri ranked fifth (40 percent).

Two New Jersey Districts Surpassed 30 Percent Charter School Enrollment Share for the First Time In 2015-16, both Camden, New Jersey and Newark, New Jersey climbed into the list

of top districts in terms of charter school enrollment share. Between 2014-15 and 2015-16, the share of charter school students in Camden increased by 6 percentage points, from 28 to 34 percent. Over the same time period, the share of charter school students in Newark increased by 2 percentage points, from 28 to 30 percent.

St. Louis Reached 30 Percent Charter School Enrollment Share St. Louis, Missouri joins 16 other districts that have at least a 30 percent charter school enrollment share. Between 2012-13 and 201516, the charter school enrollment share in St. Louis increased 6 percentage points, from 24 to 30 percent.

THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS BY DISTRICT, 2015-16

School District

New Orleans Public School System Detroit City School District School District of the City of Flint District of Columbia Public Schools Gary Community School Corporation Kansas City Public Schools Camden City School District Philadelphia City School District Indianapolis Public Schools Dayton City School District Cleveland Municipal School District Grand Rapids Public Schools Victor Valley Union High School District San Antonio Independent School District Natomas Unified School District Newark City School District St. Louis Public Schools

State

LA MI MI DC IN MO NJ PA IN OH OH MI CA TX CA NJ MO

Charter Enrollment

44,190 51,240

5,940 38,910

4,950 10,570

4,880 63,520 13,580

6,300 16,920

6,890 4,220 18,710 4,270 15,020 10,380

District-Run Enrollment

3,690 46,100

5,360 48,440

6,480 15,580

9,290 132,180

29,580 13,970 37,750 15,590

9,590 42,750 10,020 35,330 24,500

Total Enrollment

47,880 97,340 11,300 87,340 11,430 26,150 14,180 195,700 43,160 20,270 54,670 22,480 13,810 61,460 14,290 50,350 34,870

Enrollment Share

92% 53% 53% 45% 43% 40% 34% 32% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 30% 30% 30% 30%

3

Charter School Share of All Proficient Students

For the first time, the National Alliance is including two additional analyses for districts with at least 30 percent enrollment share. These analyses compare the share of charter school students in grades three through eight, plus high school, who took the state assessment in 2014-15 with all students in the district who took the assessment (test taker share). They also compare the share of charter school students who scored proficient or above on the state assessment to the share of all proficient or above students in the district (proficiency share).

Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, states were free to develop their own tests and school accountability systems--but were required to test students in third through eighth grade and at least once in high school in English language arts (ELA) and math. In order to determine the total number of test takers, the number who took the ELA test and the number who took the math test were averaged at each grade level. In 14 of the 16 districts with available 2014-15 proficiency

data, charter schools exhibited a positive differential between proficiency share and test taker share. When the proficiency share is larger than the test taker share, it means that charter schools are producing an outsized proportion of all proficient or above students in the district--indicating strong relative performance.

In Detroit, Charter School Students Represented 50 Percent of All Test Takers but 61 Percent of All Proficient Test Takers Overall, the charter school enrollment share in Detroit was 53 percent in 2015-16 and charter school students represented 50 percent of all test takers in 2014-15. However, of the students who scored proficient or above, 61 percent were charter school students--a positive differential of 11 percentage points.

In Kansas City, Charter School Students Represented 47 Percent of All Test Takers, but 56 Percent of All Proficient Test Takers In Kansas City, 40 percent of public school students were enrolled in charter schools in 2015-16 and charter school students represented 47 percent of all test takers in 2014-15. However, of the students who scored proficient or above, more than half (56 percent) were charter school students-- a positive differential of 9 percentage points.

In St. Louis, Charter School Students Represented 32 Percent of All Test Takers, but 37 Percent of All Proficient Test Takers In St. Louis, 30 percent of public school students were enrolled in charter schools in 2015-16 and charter school students represented 32 percent of all test takers in 2014-15. However, of the students who scored proficient or above, 37 percent were charter school students--a positive differential of 5 percentage points.

Note: Data are not reported for New Orleans because Louisiana did not release 2014-15 data on the number of test takers or for "all students." For more information on the methodology, please see Appendix C.

100% 75% 50% 25%

CHARTER SCHOOL SHARE OF ALL TEST TAKERS & PROFICIENT TEST TAKERS, 2014?15

Share of All Test Takers

Share of All Proficient Test Takers

61 50

46 39

56 41 44 47

4245

69 31

3438

50 51 50 55

25 27

29 29

3128

3135

33 25

49 32

32 37

0%

Detroit, MI Flint, MI

District of Columbia Kansas City, MO

Gary, IN Camden, NJ Philadelphia, PA Indianapolis, IN Dayton, OH Cleveland, OH Grand Rapids, MI Victor Valley, CA San Antonio, TX Natomas, CA Newark, NJ St. Louis, MO

4

Charter School Share of Economically Disadvantaged Proficient Students

In addition to looking at the performance of all students, the National Alliance also specifically looked at the performance of economically disadvantaged students and found similar results. In 14 of the 16 districts with available 2014-15 proficiency data, charter schools exhibited a positive differential between proficiency share and test taker share among economically disadvantaged students.

In Detroit, Charter School Students Represented 52 Percent of Economically Disadvantaged Test Takers but 66 Percent of Economically Disadvantaged Proficient Test Takers In Detroit, charter school students represented 52 percent of economically disadvantaged test takers in 2014-15.

However, they represented 66 percent of economically disadvantaged students who scored proficient or above--a positive differential of 14 percentage points.

In the District of Columbia, Charter School Students Represented 40 Percent of Economically Disadvantaged Test Takers but 54 Percent of Economically Disadvantaged Proficient Test Takers In the District of Columbia, charter school students represented 40 percent of economically disadvantaged test takers in 2014-15. However, they represented 54 percent of economically disadvantaged students who scored proficient or above--a positive differential of 14 percentage points.

In Kansas City, Charter School Students Represented 44 Percent of Economically Disadvantaged Test Takers but 49 Percent of Economically Disadvantaged Proficient Test Takers In Kansas City, charter school students represented 44 percent of economically disadvantaged test takers in 2014-15. However, they represented 49 percent of economically disadvantaged students who scored proficient or above--a positive differential of 5 percentage points.

Note: Data are not reported for New Orleans because Louisiana did not release 2014-15 data on the number of test takers or for "all students." For more information on the methodology, please see Appendix C.

100%

CHARTER SCHOOL SHARE OF LOW INCOME TEST TAKERS & PROFICIENT TEST TAKERS, 2014?15

Share of Low Income Test Takers

Share of Proficient Low Income Test Takers

75% 50% 25%

66 52

45 39

54 40

49 44

42 45

59 20

33 37

29 26

47 49

43 46

27 27

26 22

2931 28 19

43 28 29

23

0%

55

Detroit, MI Flint, MI

District of Columbia Kansas City, MO

Gary, IN Camden, NJ Philadelphia, PA Indianapolis, IN Dayton, OH Cleveland, OH Grand Rapids, MI Victor Valley, CA San Antonio, TX Natomas, CA Newark, NJ St. Louis, MO

Districts with the Greatest Number of Charter School Students

Seven Districts Enroll at Least 50,000 Charter School Students In 2015-16, seven districts in large urban areas enrolled more than 50,000 charter school students: Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami-Dade, Houston, and Detroit.

The Top 10 Districts in Terms of Total Charter School Enrollment Serve Nearly One-Quarter of All Charter School Students Nationwide In 2015-16, the 10 districts with the largest

number of students in charter schools served 23 percent of all charter school students nationwide--or more than 660,000 students. Between 2014-15 and 2015-16, the top 10 districts increased charter school enrollment by over 26,000 students--a growth rate of 4 percent.

Los Angeles Again Tops the List for Total Number of Charter School Students In 2015-16, more than 150,000 students attended charter schools in Los Angeles--

the highest number for any district in the country. Los Angeles charter schools enrolled over 4,700 more students in 2015-16 than in 2014-15--a growth rate of 3 percent.

The Total Number of Charter School Students in New York City Has More Than Doubled Over the Past Five Years Over the past five years, the number of charter school students in New York City has increased from 38,740 in 2010-11 to 93,610 in 2015-16--an increase of more than 54,000 students.

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

THE LARGEST NUMBER OF CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS BY DISTRICT, 2015-16

School District Los Angeles Unified School District

State CA

Charter Enrollment

156,040

District-Run Enrollment

487,690

Total Enrollment

643,730

New York City Department of Education

NY

93,610

982,400

1,076,010

Philadelphia City School District

PA

63,520

132,180

195,700

Chicago Public Schools

IL

59,060

329,140

388,210

Miami-Dade County Public Schools

FL

58,280

298,640

356,920

Houston Independent School District

TX

55,710

196,380

252,080

Detroit City School District

MI

51,240

46,100

97,340

Broward County Public Schools

FL

44,320

224,760

269,080

New Orleans Public Schools

LA

44,190

3,690

47,880

District of Columbia Public Schools

DC

38,910

48,440

87,340

Enrollment Share 24% 9% 32% 15% 16% 22% 53% 16% 92% 45%

6

ENROLLMENT SHARE METHODOLOGY

1. In this analysis, the National Alliance examined enrollment share in school districts with more than 10,000 public school students (both charter and district-run) in the 2015-16 school year. The National Alliance gathered public school enrollment data for both charter and districtrun schools from state department of education databases and personnel. It is important to note that students sometimes leave the geographic boundaries of the district in which they reside to attend charter schools. 2. More than 50 percent of charter schools nationwide are their own independent Local Education Agencies (LEAs), rather than being part of district-run public school LEAs. In the past, this fact meant that it was not always clear which school district charter schools were physically located in, especially for charter schools in large metropolitan areas with more than one school district (e.g., Phoenix, Arizona and Houston, Texas). For the six most recent editions of the enrollment share report, the National Alliance used a geocoding method to identify the geographically relevant school districts for each charter school. Specifically, the National Alliance geocoded every charter school that is an independent LEA to the geographically relevant school district LEA by mapping charter school addresses onto school district boundary maps available through the U.S. Census Bureau. 3. For Michigan, the National Alliance used student residential enrollment data that indicate the total number of students attending charter schools based on the district where students reside. The residential enrollment data provide information regarding how many students from a school district attend charter schools. 4. The number of virtual charter schools enrolling children from across many different school districts adds a layer of complexity to the enrollment share analysis. Because many states have not developed student enrollment reporting systems that allow for sorting individual students by community of residence, the National Alliance excluded virtual schools from both the charter and total district enrollment data when calculating enrollment share percentages. This decision may create some undercounting in school districts where large numbers of students are enrolled in virtual charter schools. The National Alliance coded virtual schools according to a nationwide list gathered from state department of education databases and personnel. The National Alliance did include virtual schools in the District of Columbia and Hawaii (which each have only one school district) and Michigan (where residential enrollment data are available).

77

TOP DISTRICTS FOR CHARTER SCHOOL SCHOOL ENROLLMENT SHARE

2015?16 SCHOOL YEAR

Natomas Victor Valley

Grand Detroit Rapids

Flint Cleveland

Kansas City

Gary

Indianapolis

Dayton

St. Louis

Newark

Camden Philadelphia

District of Columbia

San Antonio

New Orleans

KEY

Enrollment Share

No operating charter schools in 2015-16

SCHOOL DISTRICT

Source: A Growing Movement: America's Largest Charter School Communities.

CHARTER ENROLLMENT

DISTRICT-RUN ENROLLMENT

TOTAL ENROLLMENT

New Orleans Public Schools

LA

Detroit City School District

MI

School District of the City of Flint

MI

District of Columbia Public Schools

DC

Gary Community School Corporation

IN

Kansas City Public Schools

MO

Camden City School District

NJ

Philadelphia City School District

PA

Indianapolis Public Schools

IN

Dayton City School District

OH

Cleveland Municipal School District

OH

Grand Rapids Public Schools

MI

Victor Valley Union High School District

CA

San Antonio Independent School District

TX

Natomas Unified School District

CA

Newark City School District

NJ

St. Louis Public Schools

MO

8

44,190 51,240

5,940 38,910

4,950 10,570 4,880 63,520 13,580 6,300 16,920 6,890 4,220 18,710

4,270 15,020 10,380

3,690 46,100

5,360 48,440

6,480 15,580

9,290 132,180 29,580

13,970 37,750 15,590 9,590 42,750 10,020 35,330 24,500

47,880 97,340 11,300 87,340 11,430 26,150 14,180 195,700 43,160 20,270 54,670 22,480 13,810 61,460 14,290 50,350 34,870

ENROLLMENT SHARE

92% 53% 53% 45% 43% 40% 34% 32% 31% 31% 31% 31% 31% 30% 30% 30% 30%

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