Introduction
Supporters of charter schools call for New York City to authorize more of the independently run public schools at a rally in Brooklyn on Sept. 28, 2016. A recent study found that, overall, charter schools mirror the performance of traditional public schools. (Getty Images/Drew Angerer)
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Charter schools — public schools with more freedom to innovate than traditional public schools — have exploded in popularity in the past 25 years. About 6,800 charters now operate in 43 states serving 5 percent of the nation's public school students. Advocates say charter schools provide a superior education, and as proof they cite studies showing that charters have been particularly successful in raising student achievement scores in troubled inner-city districts. Charters do more with less, they say, by eliminating bureaucracy and allowing teachers to try different educational approaches. Critics, however, say that while some charters excel, most do no better than traditional public schools and many do worse. They also accuse charters of cherry-picking the best students and say the charter movement is driven, at least partly, by the desire of for-profit charter operators to make money from public education. Opposition to charter expansion has grown in some states, but President Trump and his new Education secretary, Betsy DeVos, are charter supporters.
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Jun. 21, 2019 |
Title IX and Campus Sexual Assault |
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May 17, 2019 |
School Safety |
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Feb. 02, 2018 |
Bullying and Cyberbullying |
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Mar. 10, 2017 |
Charter Schools |
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Feb. 03, 2017 |
Civic Education |
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Sep. 05, 2014 |
Race and Education |
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Jun. 13, 2014 |
Dropout Rate |
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May 09, 2014 |
School Discipline |
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Mar. 07, 2014 |
Home Schooling |
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Dec. 02, 2011 |
Digital Education |
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Nov. 15, 2011 |
Expanding Higher Education |
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Dec. 10, 2010 |
Preventing Bullying  |
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Apr. 16, 2010 |
Revising No Child Left Behind |
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Mar. 26, 2010 |
Teen Pregnancy |
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Sep. 04, 2009 |
Financial Literacy |
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Jun. 05, 2009 |
Student Rights |
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Feb. 22, 2008 |
Reading Crisis? |
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Jul. 13, 2007 |
Students Under Stress |
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Apr. 27, 2007 |
Fixing Urban Schools  |
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Nov. 10, 2006 |
Video Games  |
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Mar. 03, 2006 |
AP and IB Programs |
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Oct. 07, 2005 |
Academic Freedom |
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Aug. 26, 2005 |
Evaluating Head Start |
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May 27, 2005 |
No Child Left Behind |
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Jan. 17, 2003 |
Home Schooling Debate |
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Sep. 06, 2002 |
Teaching Math and Science |
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Jun. 07, 2002 |
Grade Inflation |
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Dec. 07, 2001 |
Distance Learning |
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Apr. 20, 2001 |
Testing in Schools |
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May 14, 1999 |
National Education Standards |
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Apr. 10, 1998 |
Liberal Arts Education |
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Jul. 26, 1996 |
Attack on Public Schools |
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May 17, 1996 |
Year-Round Schools |
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Oct. 20, 1995 |
Networking the Classroom |
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Sep. 22, 1995 |
High School Sports |
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Jan. 20, 1995 |
Parents and Schools |
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Sep. 09, 1994 |
Home Schooling |
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Mar. 25, 1994 |
Private Management of Public Schools |
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Mar. 11, 1994 |
Education Standards |
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Apr. 09, 1993 |
Head Start |
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Nov. 30, 1990 |
Conflict Over Multicultural Education |
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Feb. 05, 1988 |
Preschool: Too Much Too Soon? |
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Oct. 23, 1987 |
Education Reform |
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Aug. 24, 1984 |
Status of the Schools |
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Sep. 10, 1982 |
Schoolbook Controversies |
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Sep. 03, 1982 |
Post-Sputnik Education |
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Aug. 18, 1978 |
Competency Tests |
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Jan. 26, 1972 |
Public School Financing |
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Nov. 03, 1971 |
Education for Jobs |
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Apr. 15, 1970 |
Reform of Public Schools |
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Aug. 27, 1969 |
Discipline in Public Schools |
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Dec. 27, 1968 |
Community Control of Public Schools |
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Jun. 14, 1965 |
Summer School Innovations |
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Oct. 28, 1964 |
Education of Slum Children |
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Jun. 05, 1963 |
Year-Round School |
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Mar. 28, 1962 |
Mentally Retarded Children |
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Dec. 17, 1958 |
Educational Testing |
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Sep. 25, 1957 |
Liberal Education |
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Jul. 11, 1956 |
Educational Exchange |
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Feb. 02, 1955 |
Federal Aid for School Construction |
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Mar. 07, 1951 |
Education in an Extended Emergency |
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Nov. 20, 1945 |
Postwar Public Education |
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Nov. 07, 1941 |
Standards of Education |
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