ABSTRACT
Among the claims made by Arizona charter school advocates was that charter schools, freed from bureaucratic constraints placed upon district schools, would provide significant curricular innovation. This chapter argues that the claim for curricular innovation is not supported by current data. It also discusses that evidence of significant improvements in achievement among students in charter schools is absent at present. The chapter provides a solid overview of the rapidly changing landscape of Arizona charter school curricula. It classifies seven college-prep high schools, which enroll approximately 800 total students. The schools for "at-risk" youth are obviously serving students who, for whatever reasons, were not happy in a district school. Whether these students are being well-prepared for adult life is not clear, but they are in some form of academic environment from which they can be expected to take something.
