Archived Information

Summary

• Most charter schools are small. About 60 percent enroll fewer than 200 students whereas about 16 percent of other public schools have fewer than 200 students. At every grade span of schooling, a higher proportion of charter schools are smaller than other public schools. The difference is most striking at the secondary level with almost fourth-fifths of charter schools enrolling fewer than 200 students in contrast to one-fourth of other public secondary schools. Charter schools include a higher proportion of K-12, K-8, and ungraded schools than other public schools.

• Most charter schools are newly created. About 60 percent of charter schools were created because of the charter opportunity; the remainder were pre-existing schools that converted to charter status. About one-fourth of pre-existing charter schools were previously private schools. Newly created charter schools tend to be smaller than converted schools--three-fourths of the newly created have fewer than 200 students, whereas half of the conversion schools have fewer than 200 students.

• Charter schools have, in most states, a racial composition similar to statewide averages or have a higher proportion of students of color. Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota charter schools stand out as serving a much higher percentage of students of color than the average of all public schools in each of these states. Aside from Georgia (with only three charter schools), the average racial composition of charter schools in the other states is similar to their statewide averages.

• Charter schools serve, on average, a lower proportion of students with disabilities, except in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The charter schools in all the states, except Minnesota and Wisconsin, serve a lower percentage of students with disabilities than the average of all public schools in each state. A number of charter schools are designed specifically to serve special needs students. At fifteen schools, special education students make up more than 25 percent of the enrollment; at two of these, special education students represent 100 percent of the student body.

• Charter schools serve, on average, a lower proportion of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students, except in Minnesota and Massachusetts. Twenty-one charter schools serve student populations composed of more than 25 percent LEP students. Minnesota and Massachusetts charter schools enroll a larger percentage of LEP students than the average of other public schools in their states. (Georgia's three charters have a minimal percentage of LEP students, as does the state.) In the remaining states, the average percentage of LEP students in charter schools is lower than the statewide average.

• Charter schools enroll roughly the same proportion of low-income students, on average, as other public schools. About one-third of charter school students were eligible for the National School Lunch Program, which is about the same proportion as in all public schools. Approximately one-half of the surveyed charter schools reported that their school participates in the National School Lunch Program.

• Most charter schools are eligible for Title I funding, but some may not be aware of eligibility procedures. One-half or more of charter schools in most states reported that they are eligible to receive Title I funding, except for Colorado, Hawaii (which has 2 charter schools), Michigan, and Wisconsin (which has 5), where the percentage is smaller. For six states, about half or more of those reporting eligibility for Title I receive funds. In Colorado and Wisconsin, where only a few schools report eligibility, none of this group receives funds. In Michigan, 75 percent of those reporting eligibility receive no funds. Further study is needed to determine the extent to which schools that are eligible to receive Title I funds do not receive them because of administrative issues or whether some charter schools do not understand the complexity of Title I eligibility.

[The Students (continued)]

[IV. Why Charter Schools Are Started and What Barriers They Encounter]