The Charter School Debate: A National Study Examines Whether Schools Are Being Held Accountable

One of the great promises of charter schooling is that schools will be held accountable for results. But are authorizers setting clear expectations, gathering sufficient information, and making merit-based decisions?

At this Brookings Brown Center press briefing, Bryan C. Hassel, the president of Public Impact, an education policy consulting firm, presented new research on how charter school authorizers are making high-stakes decisions about school renewal and revocation. High-stakes decisions include those based on achieving learning goals or meeting goals specific to the charter school’s mission.

The research, funded by the Smith Richardson Foundation, analyzes fifty randomly selected decisions by authorizers. The findings suggest conclusions about how well charter school accountability is working—and under what circumstances.