David E. Campbell, Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, September 2001
Harvard research fellow David E. Campbell wrote this paper for the Boston-based Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research. In 25 pages, he probes the "civic consequences of education reform - and charter schools in particular." This is particularly timely in light of the RAND school choice study's lament that little research has been done on the consequences of charters and vouchers for "civic integration." Though Massachusetts has no vouchers, it does have private and charter schools. By surveying 2700 students in 23 schools - including six charter and five private (3 Catholic and 2 secular) schools - Campbell is able to report some very interesting evidence touching on 8 components of civic education. He also reaches three important conclusions, all to be read in the context of a troubling, overall decline in civic participation by young Americans. First, students in secular private schools scored high on almost every measure. (Those in Catholic schools scored decently but more like those in public and charter schools.) Campbell cautions, though, that this was a small sample and his findings for this sector must be viewed as preliminary. Second, among public schools, the higher the school's academic achievement (as measured on the state's MCAS tests), the higher its students' scores on most of Campbell's civic measures. Third, on these eight indicators of civic education, charter schools present a mixed picture. On some, they rival high performing public schools; on others, they're more like mid-range public schools. It's a nice piece of work. If you'd like a copy, surf to http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/research/whitepapers/wp17cover.cfm or contact the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, 85 Devonshire Street, 8th floor, Boston, MA 02109. Phone (617) 723-2277or fax (617) 723-1880.
