Academy of Excellence Charter School
Public Forum
March 7, 2009

Accountability Lies at the Heart
of Charter School Success

The Accountability Report: Charter Schools, released by the Center for Education Reform, shows that nearly 18 years since the first charter school opened, individual state data indicates that charter schools are outpacing their conventional public school peers with fewer resources and tremendous obstacles. Just as importantly, the report illustrates, the data also proves charter schools are being held accountable for these results.

In 1991 when the first charter school law was passed in Minnesota, the idea was simple - give parents and teachers a choice and allow schools to operate with freedom and flexibility in exchange for accountability. If charter schools failed to educate or attract enough students to remain financially viable, they would be closed.

What is clear from CER's analysis in The Accountability Report: Charter Schools is that in states with strong charter school laws, and where good data is available to all parties, charter schools are making notable gains. Those schools that have not performed, especially in states whose laws ensure objective oversight from independent authorizers, have been closed.

Research also shows that accountability is lost in states with weak charter laws and poor processes to vet schools and collect student assessment data. About ten percent of the nation's closed charter schools were closed for reasons that had nothing to do with the quality of the charter school, but everything to do with a hostile policy environment.

"Accountability lies at the heart of the charter school concept." says Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform. "The singular focus on student achievement challenges all public schools to raise the bar. Knowing how charter schools are held accountable is a guidepost for all engaged in educating our nation's youth."

To learn more about The Accountability Report: Charter Schools and to obtain copies of the report, please visit CER's website dedicated to the project at www.edreform.com/accountability.

The Center for Education Reform drives the creation of better educational opportunities for all children. CER changes laws, minds and cultures to allow good schools to flourish.