WA CHARTERS, Monday, June 5, 2000

Dear Friends,

In 1999, the California Legislature enacted accountability legislation which required that all public schools be rated on a performance index.

An analysis of the performance ratings for the 1999 school year was recently prepared which compares the performance of charter public schools with other public schools. The results of this study showed that, on average, California's charter public schools outperformed their conventional public school counterparts at every level -- elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.

The California Network of Educational Charters (CANEC) is the association which represents California's 250+ charter public schools. CANEC 's announcement about the newly released study is below. For a copy of the study, or for more information, contact CANEC's Helen Wallquist at (916) 448-0995 or visit the CANEC web page at www.canec.org.

THANK YOU for all you do to bring the CHOICE of charter public schools to the children, families and educators of Washington!
          Jim
Jim & Fawn Spady, co-directors,
Education Excellence Coalition
4426 - 2nd Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98105-6191
Jim office phone:
206/634-0589
Jim & Fawn home phone:
425/434-7440
I-729 campaign phone:
206/545-4900
I-729 e-mail address:
JimSpady@WAcharterschools.org

CANEC Listserv Announcement

Charter schools outperformed traditional public schools on the 1999 Academic Performance Indicator (API).

The API is the cornerstone of the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999. It measures the academic performance and progress of schools. The API for 1999 was based on results of the Stanford 9 achievement test. A review of the baseline results from the 1999 API shows that a greater percentage of charter schools than of non-charter schools score in the top 50 percent of all public school rankings. Scores of 92 charter schools that received an API ranking were included in this analysis, conducted by the California Network of Educational Charters (CANEC). These superior results were reflected at each of the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Fifty-eight percent of all charter elementary schools are in the sixth through 10th deciles, as compared to only 50 percent of all elementary schools. In fact, charter elementary schools scored significantly higher than the total population, with 40 percent of all elementary charter schools scoring in the top three deciles, compared with 30 percent for all elementary schools.

Jeanne Lazar, Site Administrator of Deterding Charter School in Carmichael, believes that "Deterding’s 820 API is attributed to the unified effort of the parents and teachers to teach to the state standards. Parents have truly come to the plate and modeled the importance of education through their involvement on campus."

Fifty-three percent of all charter schools classified as middle schools are in the seventh through 10th deciles, as compared to 40 percent for all middle schools.

"The Accelerated School’s perfect 10 score on the State’s similar school API is reflective of what can happen when high standards are combined with account ability" says Johnathan Williams, Founder and Co-Director, of the inner-city Los Angeles school. "Charter schools’ higher performance on these measures is a by-product of their mission-driven programs."

Sixty-five percent of all charter schools classified as high schools (and not serving an alternative population) are in the sixth to 10th deciles, as compared to 50 percent of all high schools. Charter high schools also score higher than non-charter high schools, with 45 percent of all charter high schools scoring in the seventh through tenth deciles, compared with 40 percent for all high schools.

CANEC is working to document the successes of charter school students as reflected in the API. CANEC will continue to track API results and the progress charter schools are making with the release next month of the 2000 Stanford 9 test scores. Adding to the high marks charter schools receive from both parents of their students and the educators who work in them, the evidence is growing that many charter schools are showing solid academic achievement.

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For a copy of the test result data, please contact Helen Wallquist at (916) 448-0995.

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