Charter Schools’ Effectiveness, Mechanisms, and Competitive Influence

Charter schools have grown increasingly popular among families since the first charter school was established almost thirty years ago. Cohodes and Parham examine charter schools’ impacts on student achievement and their influence on nearby traditional public schools. Though charter schools perform, on average, the same as district schools, they find that charters in urban areas improve student test scores, especially for Black, Latinx, and low-income students.