In fall 2023, Blueprint Labs launched the Charter School Research Collaborative, aiming to bridge the gap between charter school policy and research to generate more actionable findings. Nearly two years and three requests for proposals later, the Collaborative has funded 23 charter school research projects rooted in strong research-practice partnerships. Some of these projects, which study topics such as the long-term effects of charter-level and system-level practices, are just getting started. Others are beginning to develop exciting, early-stage results.
Preliminary findings
One such project is a study of high-dosage tutoring conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago’s Personalized Learning Initiative (PLI) in partnership with Saga Education and New Mexico’s Public Education Department (NMPED). This project studies the effects of virtual high-dosage tutoring in NMPED middle schools, building on PLI’s goals to tackle pandemic learning loss by studying effective implementation and scaling of high-dosage tutoring. Non-profit Saga Education developed the tutoring curriculum and provides technical support and training for tutors. Thus far, the study has evaluated over 1,400 students across rural and urban New Mexico middle schools, including both charter and traditional public schools.
Their preliminary results suggest that tutoring significantly boosts students’ math learning. Several groups of middle school students in both charter and traditional public schools, randomly selected by the research team, received an average of over 40 hours of virtual, high-dosage math tutoring throughout the year. Students who received tutoring improved their standardized math test scores by 38% more than their untreated peers over the course of the school year. The randomized design of the study affirms that tutoring causes this gain. In the remainder of the grant period, the researchers will increase the number of students in the study and estimate the charter school-specific effects of virtual tutoring.
New Research
As our grantees develop their findings, the Collaborative continues to fund additional projects that will contribute to a body of policy-relevant literature. Earlier this month, the Collaborative funded six new projects. These projects will study literacy practices in Louisiana charter schools, the connection between charter authorizer evaluations and school quality, the spillover effects of charter schools on traditional public school students, and more. The new projects study charter schools and authorizers nationwide, from Florida to Texas to Massachusetts. All six projects stem from strong partnerships; half of these grantees met their partners through the Charter School Research Collaborative’s matchmaking efforts. Blueprint’s next matchmaking session will take place in September; sign up here to join.
New Opportunities for Funding
As these newly funded projects begin, the Collaborative aims to continue funding research that will inform policy and practice. Our fourth request for proposals is now open, with mandatory letters of inquiry due on August 4, 2025. The Collaborative supports projects of varying sizes and scopes that investigate research questions aligned with our agenda. Grants for this round of applications will range from less than $10,000 to $500,000. Interested in applying? Learn more on our website and sign up for our upcoming webinar.