Florida charter schools' many F's give ammunition to critics

[The Backlash Cometh]

Charter schools, which account for only a fraction of the state's public schools, received half of all the F's when the state handed out its annual letter grades two weeks ago.

Of all the failing grades given to public schools, 15 of 31 went to charters.

The charters, often billed by proponents as a superior alternative to traditional schools, were seven times more likely than regular schools to get an F in the appraisal of the state's elementary and middle schools.

Financed with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, charters also were more likely to earn D's and less likely to earn A's, B's or C's than regular public schools.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-charter-schools-fail-071711-20110716,0,4470007.story

[madfloridian]

1. Unfortunately it is only traditional public schools that are held accountable.

I am quite sure these failings of charters will be analyzed and said to be quite okay. :shrug:

[Snoutport]

2. We need laws that hold all schools to the same standard

You've had some excellent posts lately madflo!

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. I don't know. Parents are pretty finicky about these things.

An "F" grade is a succinct soundbite.

[madfloridian]

7. Here's a bunch of excuses already being made....

Jeb's buddy says choice is more important than grades for charters..Amazing.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-charter-schools-fail-071711-20110716,0,601122,full.story

"Patricia Levesque, director of former Gov. Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future, is a staunch proponent of both school grades and school choice. Both were firmly established in Florida during the Bush years. But Levesque says school choice trumps school grades when it comes to charters.

"Charter schools are always free-choice schools, and if people don't like them, they can go somewhere else," Levesque said."


Read the quotes about the charter for low-income black families...


"Though parents might be expected to steer clear of the failing charters, it isn't happening.

Barbara McLean-Smith, principal of Rio Grande, says the school that caters to low-income black students has a waiting list for the coming school year, with more parents signing up every day. McLean-Smith says Rio Grande's F is not a true reflection of her students' achievement. Grades for elementary schools are based on students' scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment test.

"My students had learning gains, but the test scores did not reflect it," she said. "I do think there should be accountability, but I don't think it should be based on that one test."

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Oh eecchhh!

They don't skip a beat, do they?

[Snoutport]

12. WHAT?

"I do think there should be accountability, but I don't think it should be based on that one test."

BUT that is exactly what they are doing to public school teachers. Jeeeeeez.....

[madfloridian]

13. It's sickening.

And really obvious. Makes me furious.

[liskddksil]

15. yep only in the public schools should it be based on the one test-not

in their precious charters.

[Starry Messenger]

16. "They can go somewhere else"...um, not when the public schools are closed

because of the resources being bled off to fund failing charters.

[liskddksil]

3. Get ready for the excuses and "give it time" from the ed-deformers

while decrying all the valid reasons as excuses that public school's offer.

[Davis_X_Machina]

4. You can't refute a theology with facts.

Everything private is better than anything public is, or can ever be.
Everything that exists can be priced, bought and sold.
Everything that can't be priced, bought or sold doesn't actually exist.
And so long as one of us, anywhere, is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement, none of us is truly free.

Baruch atah ha Shuk, ha dayan emet, Blessed be the Market, the righteous judge.

That's the theology.

In the middle ages they didn't use facts, they used a stake, kindling, and a medieval box of medieval kitchen matches to refute a theology. And even then, it usually didn't work.

We don't roll that way now, either.

[immoderate]

6. This is amazing!

I have a friend I continually taunt about being a "true believer." And there you have his theology faithfully spelled out.

Woe to anyone who thinks you are just making a joke.

--imm

[Bozita]

8. K&R for all the hypocrisy of the charter apologists

[Bozita]

10. a tiny snip from Huffpo ...

Supporters laud charter schools' flexibility and the proliferation of options for parents, while critics condemn them for sucking resources out of public schools and underserving high-need populations. Beyond those objections, the overall efficacy of charter schools is in question. The most authoritative study on the issue -- out of Stanford University in 2009 -- found that only 17 percent of the charter schools studied outperform public schools and that 37 percent "deliver results that are significantly worse" than those expected of traditional public schools.


Complete article at the link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/08/detroit-charter-high-schools-underperform_n_893327.html

[ChiciB1]

11. But, But, But Isn't This The Way Duncan & This Administration Wants Education

to go forth? I live in Florida and not only am I upset about this, but we also have to deal with one of the very WORST Governors EVER!

Living in a Ruby Red county anything I try to do is an act of frustration!

[gratuitous]

14. And charters get to pick and choose their students

Public schools have to enroll anyone in their service district who applies, regardless of any physical or mental disability or learning handicaps. Charters can simply dump the low achievers back on the public schools and keep the best and the brightest (as long as their checks clear). And they still don't measure up.