Harold Doran and Darrel Drury, Education Performance Network, New American Schools
October 2002
Harold Doran and Darrel Drury of New American Schools' Education Performance Network conducted this evaluation of three new KIPP ("Knowledge Is Power Program") charter schools during their first year of operation (2001-2). The question was whether they were replicating the strong student achievement gains of the two flagship KIPP schools in New York City and Houston. Though we know from other research that many new charters flail during their maiden year and don't produce big gains in pupil learning, this study concludes that "students' test scores improved at impressive rates after their enrollment in the KIPP schools. Of critical importance, these gains were reflected across demographic subgroups and exceeded those achieved by these same students in the year prior to their enrollment." All three schools began (in D.C., North Carolina and Texas) with 5th grades only. The Washington, D.C. school yielded math and reading test score gains exceeding those of any other public school in town; the North Carolina school found 93% of its students passing the state end-of-year reading test, compared with 57% of those youngsters the previous year; and the new Houston KIPP school had a higher proportion of its pupils pass the 5th grade TAAS math and reading tests than did the Houston school system as a whole. While we oughtn't overstate the significance of one-year, one-grade gains in 3 schools, this report surely tends to affirm the effort to replicate more KIPP schools nationwide. You can get a copy at http://www.naschools.org/contentViewer.asp?highlightID=203&catID=439. A news account ("Test Scores Are Up at KIPP Schools," by Jay Mathews, The Washington Post, October 21, 2002) can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57170-2002Oct20.html.
