We have listed only a small sample of research and reports on charter schools and related topics that are available on the Internet. We do not necessarily endorse the findings or methodology of any paper listed on this page. Please inform us of dead links at the e-mail address below. This page is divided according to broad topics listed below.
- General;
- Federal policy;
- State policy;
- Local policy
- Student accountability;
- Students with disabilities; and
- Student achievement.
General
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Posted 2002. "Dynamic Debate: Determining the Evolving Impact of Charter Schools."
Katrina Bulkley and Jennifer Fisler. 2002. “A Decade of Charter Schools: From Theory to Practice.” CPRE Policy Briefs RB-35. April.
Brookings Institution, Brown Center on Education Policy. 2000. “Vouchers and Charter Schools: The Latest Evidence.”
Brian P. Gill, P. Michael Timpane, Karen E. Ross, Dominic J. Brewer. 2001. Rhetoric Versus Reality: What We Know and What We Need to Know About Vouchers and Charter Schools. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. (Full text available on line.)
Bryan C. Hassel. 1999. The Charter School Challenge: Avoiding the Pitfalls, Fulfilling the Promise. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. (Full text available on line.)
U.S. Department of Education. 1997-2000. National Study of Charter Schools: First, Second, Third, and Fourth Year Reports.
U.S. Department of Education. Summary of ED-sponsored charter school research and demonstration programs.
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation reports and articles on charter schools.
Federal policy
Paul Herdman, Nelson Smith, and Cynthia Skinner. 2002. Charter Schools and the New Accountability Provisions. Explores the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act's accountability provisions on public charter schools and charter authorizers.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Charter school provisions in the law.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Charter school desktop reference.
U.S. Department of Education. 2000. “Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program: Year One Evaluation Report”. The Year 1 data in this report paint a comprehensive picture of a number of issues: the development of the Public Charter Schools Program, state and charter school authorizer perspectives on charter school flexibility and accountability, and the charter school activities of states and a sample of charter school authorizers. This picture, however, is also a "snapshot" of a rapidly evolving movement during a narrow time interval (summer and fall 1999).
State policy
Education Commission of the States. Reports on state policy. Topics include finance, autonomy, teachers, accountability, legislation, equity, and others.
Comparison of Charter Legislation: Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia. (1999, June, RPP International) One of a series of reports of the National Study of Charter Schools sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, this report provides a comparative overview of the charter laws of the 33 states and the District of Columbia that had enacted legislation as of October 1998.
U.S. Department of Education. 1998. Charter School Roadmap. This study, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, in collaboration with Education Commission of the States and the National Conference of State Legislatures, presents policy makers with a brief description of specific issues to consider in charter school legislation. It also offers options for addressing each issue. The issues described include sponsorship; appeals; finance and fundraising; autonomy; staffing; and oversight, renewal, and revocation.
Specific States
Jerry Horn and Gary Miron. 1999 and 2000. Evaluation of the Michigan Charter School Initiative. Kalamazoo, MI: The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University.
Gary Miron, Christopher Nelson, and John Risley. 2002. Strengthening Pennsylvania’s Charter School Reform: Findings from the Statewide Evaluation and Discussion of Relevant Policy Issues. Kalamazoo, MI: The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University.
Gary Miron and Christopher Nelson. 2000. Autonomy in Exchange for Accountability: An Initial Study of Pennsylvania Charter Schools. Kalamazoo, MI: The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University.
Local Policy
RPP International. 2001. Challenge and Opportunity: The Impact of Charter Schools on School Districts. June.
Paul T. Hill. 2001. “Charter School Districts.” PPI Backgrounder. May 16. Washington, DC: Progressive Policy Institute.
Amy Stuart Wells. 1998. Beyond the Rhetoric of Charter School Reform: A Study of Ten California School Districts. UCLA Charter School Study.
Accountability
Center for Education Reform. 2002. Charter School Closures: The Opportunity for Accountability.
Paul T. Hill and Robin J. Lake. 2002. Charter Schools and Accountability in Public Education. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
Paul T. Hill, et al. 2001. A Study of Charter School Accountability. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Bryan Hassel and Paul Herdman. 2000. Charter School Accountability: A Guide to Issued and Options for Charter Authorizers. Chapel Hill, NC: Public Impact.
Students with disabilities
Thomas A. Fiore, et al. 2000. Charter Schools and Students with Disabilities: A National Study. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Eileen M. Ahern. 1999. Charter Schools and Special Education: A Report on State Policies. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Research Triangle Institute. 1999. Charter Schools and Students with Disabilities: Review of Existing Data. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Student achievement
Brookings Institution, Brown Center on Education Policy. 2002. Brown Center Report on American Education.Part 3 discusses charter schools, with a specific focus on student achievement.
Douglas Staiger has several papers on achievement and school accountability on his site.