The experiment is working
Test scores show city’s charter schools are getting results in different ways
Updated: 07/17/08 6:37 AM
The fact that charter schools have posted some of the highest state test scores among Buffalo schools this year speaks to the validity of what was once considered an educational experiment. As recently reported, a couple of city-based charter schools posted math and English test results among the best of any schools in Erie and Niagara counties — and charter schools significantly outperformed the city’s traditional public schools.
Tapestry, South Buffalo, Elmwood Village and Buffalo United consistently ranked in the Top 10 among all Buffalo schools in the recent math and English tests. Community, Westminster and Pinnacle schools appeared in the Top 10 several times.
Not all charter schools are created equal. A couple of years ago the State University of New York closed Stepping Stone Charter School, and Sankofa Charter School was closed at the end of this school year.
But the validation of the experiment in alternative school structures and education practices continues — the point of the charter school initiative, in the first place. Charter schools operate under far fewer constraints on personnel and scheduling, providing more time on task while allowing music, arts and physical education. There’s also an emphasis on tests that make or break a school as the main criteria for renewal.
Charter schools still have their critics, and recruiting and maintaining enrollment is a universal struggle. But competition should be feared only by the uncompetitive, and charter schools still can serve not only as good educational institutions but as laboratories for the development of best educational practices. That was the challenge they were set; it appears that, for the most part, they are passing the test.
