The Boundaries of Competition: Examining Charter Schools’ Impact on Traditional Schools

Matthew J. Uttermark, Kenneth R. Mackie, Carol S. Weissert, Alexandra Artiles

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

For decades, charter schools have been promoted as a panacea for increasing competition in the educational marketplace. Supporters argue that increased choice forces neighboring schools to innovate, while opponents contend that charters “skim” students and funds away from traditional public schools (TPS). We test the two differing views by comparing academic achievement and school segregation in TPS in South Florida facing competition from charter schools compared to TPS with no competition. We find that when a charter school moves into the community, it fails to substantively change test scores or diversity of the nearby TPS, even 10 years after a charter is established.
Original languageAmerican English
JournalEducational Policy
Volume38
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • charter schools
  • educational policy
  • policy implementation

EGS Disciplines

  • Political Science

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