The 21st Century Charter Schools Initiative

Accountability for Student Achievement
Charter schools are accountable for student achievement. The rules and structure of charter
schools depend on state authorizing legislation and differ from state to state. A charter school
is authorized to function once it has received a charter, a statutorily defined performance
contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of
assessment, and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted
varies, but most are granted for 3–5 years.
Charter schools are
held accountable to
their sponsor—a local
school board, state
education agency,
university, or other
entity—to produce
positive academic
results and adhere to
the charter contract.
While
this
accountability is one of
the key arguments in
favor of charters,
evidence gathered by
the United States
Department of
Education suggests that charter schools are not, in practice, held to higher standards of
accountability than traditional public schools. That point can be refuted by examining the
number of traditional public schools that have been closed due to students' poor performance
on end-of-course/end-of-grade tests. Typically, these schools are allowed to remain open,
perhaps with new leadership or restructuring, or perhaps with no change at all. Charter school
proponents assert that charter schools are not given the opportunities to restructure often and
are simply closed down when students perform poorly on these assessments. As of March
2009, 12.5% of the over 5000 charter schools founded in the United States had closed for
reasons including academic, financial, and managerial problems, and occasionally consolidation
or district interference.
Many charter schools are created with the original intent of providing a unique and innovative
educational experience to its students that cannot be matched by the traditional public schools.
While some charter schools succeed in this objective, many succumb to the same pressures as
their public school brethren. Charter schools are accountable for test scores, state mandates,
and other traditional requirements that often have the effect of turning the charter school into
a similar model and design as the public schools.
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