The purpose of this study is to compare student academic outcomes (MEAP data) and school-related data (e.g., school size, racial distribution within the schools, socioeconomic status, student-teacher ratios, per pupil funding) from Michigan charter school academies, traditional public schools in host districts, and traditional public schools to determine if charter school academies are meeting students' academic needs.
A nonexperimental, descriptive research design was used in this study. The data used in this study were obtained from Internet sites (e.g., SchoolDataDirect.org, Michigan.gov./MDE, etc.). This type of research design is appropriate when the independent variable is not manipulated. While collecting data from the Internet, the researcher was careful to triangulate the data to verify the integrity of the Internet sources. The data retrieved from School Data Direct, a service of the Council of Chief State School Officers State Education Data Center (2008), were compared to that available on the Michigan Department of Education website to assure consistency between the two reports.
Findings for the two years of the study were consistent. The results indicated that charter schools generally were underperforming both the state and the host districts in English language arts and mathematics at most grade levels. In addition, charter schools typically had more students qualifying for free or reduced lunch programs, enrolled a greater percentage of African American students, paid their teachers substantially lower salaries, and received lower foundation allowances than public schools in Michigan and those in the host districts.
Recommendations for further research included replicating the study in five years to determine if these findings change as teachers in charter schools gain experience and students have a longer history in the charter school. Another research topic could compare charter schools across the United States to determine if the failings of charter schools are localized or a general outcome.
