Charter schools show MCAS gains

Critics downplay independents' showing on tests

By Anand Vaishnav, Globe Staff, 10/17/2003

Eight years after Massachusetts opened its first charter schools, many of the publicly funded, independently run schools are making broad gains on the MCAS test, state education officials said yesterday.

Seven of 19 charter schools had all their students pass the English portion of the 10th-grade MCAS test, according to the Department of Education. That compares with 13 of 257 traditional public school districts, state figures show. Passing the English and math portions of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test became a graduation requirement with the class of 2003.

While many charter schools showed big gains individually, statewide they do not appear to be outperforming traditional public schools. For example, 61 percent of students in the class of 2005 scored in the top two levels of the English MCAS test, the same percentage as students in charter schools. And 51 percent of students in the class of 2005 scored in the top levels of the math MCAS test, compared with 52 percent of charter-school students.

Charter schools are run by groups that receive a five-year charter from the state Board of Education. In exchange for freedom from state and union regulations, charter schools must prove that they fit an educational niche -- such as college-preparatory, fine arts, or service to disadvantaged youth -- and produce results to have their charters renewed. They are considered public schools and have no entrance exams.

James A. Peyser, chairman of the state Board of Education, pointed out that many charter schools are located in urban areas and score higher than their host school districts.

"What motivates charter school founders and what keeps them going is a fervent belief that they can create excellence for students who would otherwise have to settle for mediocrity or worse," said Peyser, a longtime charter school backer.

But opponents said the results proved little.

"Charter school results, both high and low, are much the same as the scores of a similar demographic in public school," said Paul Dunphy, a policy analyst with Citizens for Public Schools. "But as it happens, Commonwealth charter schools enroll a wealthier segment of the population."

Yesterday, education officials and charter school founders from across Massachusetts gathered at the Boston Evening Academy, a charter school in Roxbury that serves more than 200 students ages 16-23 who attend school at night to earn their high school diplomas. It is an example, officials said, of the innovation that many charter schools embrace. Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey also officially awarded charters to five new schools opening in 2003 and 2004 and gave renewals to 11 existing charter schools.

There are two types of charter schools in Massachusetts: Independent Commonwealth charter schools take money from school systems whenever students transfer into the charter schools, while Horace Mann charter schools operate as part of a school district and do not cause the school system to lose any money. Massachusetts has 50 charter schools that enroll 19,000 students.

One advantage most charter schools have is their small size. And because they operate with greater flexibility, they can lengthen the school year past the typical 180-day calendar or institute mandatory homework hours or stricter discipline rules.

All those factors were big reasons why students at South Boston Harbor Academy Charter School said they fared well on the MCAS test. All two dozen students in the class of 2005 passed both the English and math portions of the exam on the first try.

The close attention in MCAS prep during and after school helped, they said.

"There's so much one-on-one you can have with teachers that you can't have anywhere else," junior Cailyn Mahoney, 15, said. "It's like a family."