Charter schools, those private institutions so beloved by Republicans, have been judged and the results are mixed.
One recent study [open source] concluded:
We estimate the impact of charter schools on early-life labor market outcomes using administrative data from Texas. We find that, at the mean, charter schools have no impact on test scores and a negative impact on earnings.. . .Moving to school-level estimates, we find that charter schools that decrease test scores also tend to decrease earnings, while charter schools that increase test scores have no discernible impact on earnings. In contrast, high school graduation effects are predictive of earnings effects throughout the distribution of school quality.
More on the study from Education Week:
Texas charter schools on average have a negative effect on students’ future earnings, according to a new working paper by two economists.
Although attending a “no excuse” charter school, which the study describes as having stricter rules, uniforms, and longer school days and years, leads to higher test scores and four-year college enrollment, it has no meaningful effect on earnings.
Other types of charter schools, however, stumble on all three measures: hurting test scores, four-year college enrollment, and earnings.
These findings are almost the opposite of another study of Florida charter school students released in April from Mathematica Policy Research. It found that attending a charter school had little impact on test scores, but students went on to earn higher salaries than their peers in district schools.
Enough with the prefacing, and one with the show.
From Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:
Charter Schools: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Program notes:
Charter schools are privately run, publicly funded, and irregularly regulated. John Oliver explores why they aren’t at all like pizzerias.
eats shoots 'n leaves 