U.S. Department of Education
November 2002
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI International, this report is chock-full of data about charter schools and their authorizers, and offers a good review of the state of the charter movement ten years on. Findings include:
- Most charter school teachers are certified and, like in traditional public schools, most are white.
- Non-renewal and revocation of a school's charter are predominantly the result of business failings, not poor student performance.
- The median enrollment in charter schools is 171.
- On average, slightly more than half of charter students are members of ethnic minorities.
- Approximately 12 percent of charter pupils have IEPs for special education services, compared to about 13 percent of students in traditional public schools.
- Sixty-two percent of charter schools have more applicants than they can accommodate.
- Fewer than one-quarter work with Education Management Organizations (EMOs).
- The average number of charter schools in operation per authorizer is three.
- Authorizers typically do not have separate offices, staff, or budgets to support their activities with charter schools.
- Fewer than one-quarter of authorizers report having turned down charter applicants because of problems or concerns with their applications.
