Charter schools have a mixed reputation, with advocates believing they are vital to help innovation flourish, which in turn helps standards rise as those innovations spread throughout the school network.  While that may have merit, new research from the University of Rochester suggests it’s far from guaranteed.

The researchers wanted to explore whether particular types of schools seemed to disseminate innovation more effectively.  In one experiment, they looked at schools offering alternative forms of pedagogy, such as Montessori schools.  They found that these schools appear to have little, if any, spillover impact on nearby public schools, largely due to the differences in teaching styles.

“The parents sending their children to those charter schools value an alternative style of instruction, so there’s no real competition with traditional public schools,” the authors explain. “As a result, officials at the nearby district schools have no incentive for making changes.”

Crossover

Might things be different when charter schools don’t differentiate their teaching methods?  Not really.  The study shows that charter schools were on average capable of increasing maths scores by an amount equivalent to increasing learning time from three weeks to four, but no improvements were seen in maths scores at public schools.

The study follows previous work by the team into the location of charter schools, with the universal funding formula typically resulting in them locating in lower cost areas, such as the suburbs, where rental costs are lower.

“Many charter schools are moving into neighborhoods where they’re not serving what we consider to be the social purpose of charter schools,” the researcher explains. “My hypothesis is that many students going to those schools are simply ones who would otherwise go to private schools.”

This could make it less likely that parents will choose a charter school in urban areas as such schools may not be available.  As such, the authors believe that more help needs to be given to schools who wish to setup in higher cost areas, especially in urban neighborhoods.

Nonetheless, they hope that their work provides a better understanding of the link between location and operational costs, and also the influence different types of school have on standards, and that this in turn leads to smarter policy making across the education sector.