Chicago Public School students attending charter elementary schools gained 17 percentage points on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test composite (ISAT) over the last five years, and charter high school students increased their attendance rate by four percentage points since 2006, according to an annual 2007-2008 performance report on charter schools released by the CPS Office of New Schools today.
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Charter School Performance Report.
In step with the district as a whole, the percentage of charter school students meeting or exceeding state standards on the ISAT composite went from 53.9 percent to 70.5 percent between 2004 and 2008.
During the same time period, the percentage of non-charter school students meeting or exceeding state standards on the ISAT composite increased from 40 percent to 60.8 percent.
The report also found that from 2006 to 2008, the charter high school student attendance rate increased from 85 percent to 89 percent. Charter elementary schools showed a steady and consistent attendance rate that remained at 95 percent over a five year period.
“Test scores, attendance rates and graduation rates are important performance measures we use to hold our charter schools accountable and these metrics are aligned with state and federal guidelines,” said Josh Edelman, Executive Officer of the Office of New Schools.
“But we also realize that the nature, design and popularity of our charter schools will ultimately draw comparisons to neighborhood schools,” Edelman continued. “So, we make sure that a number of sound metrics are developed in conjunction with the district’s Office of Research, Evaluation and Accountability to give an accurate and fair account of how charter schools are doing in relation to the rest of the district.”
The annual Charter School Performance Report, which compiles performance data for the district’s charter schools, also details the student performance indicators and operational performance indicators that charter schools are held accountable to on a yearly basis. Included in this data is a relative student performance average, which includes the neighborhood schools a charter school student would have most likely attended if the charter school did not exist.
Ninety-one percent of charter elementary schools had a higher percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards on the 2008 ISAT composite than their comparison neighborhood schools.
Eighty-eight percent of charter high schools had a higher percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards on the 2008 PSAE composite than their comparison neighborhood schools.
Popularity for charter schools continues to be high among parents and students, in part due to an extended school day and longer school calendar. This year more than 13,000 students were on charter school waiting lists. In the near future, school officials will push for longer hours and more days for all schools to help maximize student achievement in the classroom.
During the 2007-2008 school year, charter schools served 22,700 students district-wide, and more minority students. Sixty-four percent of charter school students were African American, 30 percent were Latino, three percent were Caucasian, one percent was Asian, and two percent were of another race.
In comparison, 46.5 percent of non-charter school students were African American, 39 percent were Latino, eight percent were Caucasian, three percent were Asian, and three percent were multi-racial or of another race.
To date, 30 charter schools on 68 campuses have been created, mostly under Renaissance 2010, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s initiative to create 100 new schools by the year 2010. The first charter school was established in 1997.
Download the Charter School Performance Report.
About CPS
Chicago Public Schools serves approximately 407,000 students in 666 schools. It is the nation’s third-largest school district.