Study Shows More Progress for LA Schools

Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) has released a report on charter school performance in California.  Commenting on the study’s findings, José Cole-Gutiérrez, Director of LAUSD’s Charter School Division, said: “We are excited and further motivated by what the CREDO study highlights as a result of the tremendous work of our students, our charter school partners, our Board of Education and entire District team. LAUSD remains committed to serving with excellence as an authorizer and working in collaboration with our partners so that we learn from one another, ensure quality, and help all students maximize their potential.”

 

The CREDO press release reads as follows:

A new report released today by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) found that the typical student in a Los Angeles charter school gains more learning in a year than his or her district school peer, amounting to about 50 more days of learning in reading and an additional 79 days of learning in math.

 

“Results for Hispanic charter students in Los Angeles, especially Hispanic students in poverty, were noteworthy. The gains for Hispanic students in poverty at charters amount to 58 additional days of learning in reading and 115 more days in math compared to their district school counterparts,” said Dev Davis, Research Manager and co-author of the Los Angeles CREDO report.

 

The results of the 2014 Los Angeles analysis represent a sizeable difference from the results of CREDO’s 2013 National Charter School Study. The 2014 Los Angeles Report found that citywide, compared to traditional school alternatives, 48 percent of charter schools have significantly larger learning gains in reading, while 44 percent do so in math. Thirteen percent of charter schools have results that are significantly worse than their district school peers in reading and 22 percent perform worse in math. Nationally 25 percent of charter schools have significantly larger learning gains in reading, while 29 percent do so in math. Nineteen percent of charter schools have results that are significantly worse than their district school peers in reading and 31 percent do so in math.

 

"The overall pattern of performance in Los Angeles reflects strong authorizing coupled with focused school operations. This is a formula that appears in other high performing charter communities; when flexibility is coupled with strong authorizer accountability, students reap the benefit,” said Margaret Raymond, Director of CREDO at Stanford University.

 

CREDO at Stanford University is the nation’s foremost independent analyst of charter school effectiveness. This report provides the first in-depth examination of the results for charter schools in Los Angeles by CREDO. However, charter schools in Los Angeles were included in a previous study by CREDY all California charter schools, which can be found on CREDO’s website. An update to that study is expected to be released by CREDO in the upcoming weeks.

 

To download a copy of the state report visit: http://credo.stanford.edu

 

Click here - CREDO Media Release

 

Click here - Charter Schools Performance in LAUSD Report 2014