ABSTRACT
Charter schools strike a unique bargain regarding accountability, opting for performance instead of compliance to rules and regulations. In the movement, this is known as the “autonomy-for-accountability” tradeoff. Charter schools are public schools using public funds to provide a service that must be open to all students, and charter schools must meet state standards. But charter schools are ostensibly freed of many state and local regulations, and are essentially autonomous in their operations. They are self-governing institutions with wide control over their curriculum, instruction, staffing, budget, calendar, etc. The price for that freedom is performance. If a charter school fails to perform, it can lose its funding and be forced to shut its doors.
