ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at charter school research on student achievement and assesses the reviews of charter school studies. It argues that research is at a point where authors can begin to outline a more systematic, rigorous meta-analysis of charter school studies for a clearer understanding of their effects on student achievement. The debate about charter school effects on student achievement rages on. It seems every study released to the public and picked up by the media fuels the fire of proponents and critics alike. A report on charter schools by Henry Braun, Frank Jenkins, and Wendy Grigg of the Educational Testing Service for the US Department of Education provides more debate fodder for charter school critics and advocates. The report examines fourth grade math and reading achievement differences between charter and traditional public schools in the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
