NEPC Review: Charter School Autonomy: A Half-Broken Promise

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/defaults/0p096774w

Abstract

This report concludes that autonomy is a prerequisite for innovative and effective charter schools to emerge. Especially important is freedom from external bureaucratic control. Yet there is nothing in this report that addresses levels of autonomy in relationship to financial performance, resource allocation practices, academic results, and other key school characteristics and outcomes. Beyond anecdotal evidence, the authors fail to empirically demonstrate whether and how authorizers’ constraints have had an adverse impact upon any of the examined four key areas of school autonomy: staffing, instructional programming, governance, and culture.

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