Analysis Finds LAUSD Choice Resolution Would Increase Quality Options within Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Charter schools seeking to submit proposals under the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) “Resolution for Public School Choice,” to be voted on tomorrow by the LAUSD school board, are outperforming their nearby district school peers according to an analysis released today by the California Charter Schools Association.

“The LAUSD board should have the utmost confidence when passing tomorrow’s resolution that the charter schools interested in expanding are demonstrating a tremendous level of quality”

The Resolution for Public School Choice, sponsored by LAUSD Board Member Yolie Flores Aguilar, would allow successful charter schools, community organizations, district public schools and the local teacher union to submit proposals to run 50 new public schools in LAUSD, potentially creating over 60,000 high-quality public school opportunities for Los Angeles students.

Sixteen charter school organizations currently operating 75 charter schools in Los Angeles (including several which open this fall) have publicly expressed interest in submitting proposals to open charter schools upon passage of the resolution.

The Association conducted a matched comparison analysis of the performance of these 16 charter school organizations and assessed each charter school’s performance compared to the three similarly-matched district schools that students would otherwise likely attend.

The analysis revealed that 70 percent of charter schools outperformed all three of their neighborhood peers in both English-Language Arts and mathematics. Additionally, 89 percent of the charter schools in the analysis outperformed at least two of their three similarly-matched district schools in both English-Language Arts and mathematics.

“The LAUSD board should have the utmost confidence when passing tomorrow’s resolution that the charter schools interested in expanding are demonstrating a tremendous level of quality,” said Jed Wallace, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. “We know for a fact that the same charter schools that have stepped up to answer the district’s call for expanding high-quality options are precisely the organizations that are making tremendous strides in improving student achievement in some of Los Angeles’ most underserved neighborhoods.”

The analysis used data from the California Department of Education STAR 2009 California Standards Test Summary Reports to compare charters’ performance with three similar traditional public school peers within a five-mile radius. Similar schools were selected based on the school’s racial composition, average parent level of education, and free/reduced price lunch participation.

“This resolution represents exactly the kind of reform that is desperately needed in LAUSD,” said Randy Palisoc, Chief Academic Officer of Synergy Academies, one of the 16 charter school organizations that would submit proposals to expand if the resolution passes. “It is time to unleash the potential of high-performing charter schools in order to allow more students and families in LAUSD to benefit.”

A coalition of several thousand parents is expected to gather tomorrow in downtown Los Angeles to actively voice their support for the Resolution for Public School Choice.

“It is clear that these high-quality charter schools in Los Angeles have a demonstrated track record of success,” said Wallace. “Charter schools are part of the solution in tackling LAUSD’s challenges of low student achievement and high dropout rates.”

The sixteen charter school organizations publicly expressing interest in submitting proposals to LAUSD include: Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, Bright Star Schools, Camino Nuevo Charter Academies, Design High School, Fenton Avenue Charter School, Granada Hills Charter High School, Green Dot Public Schools, ICEF Public Schools, KIPP Schools, LA Leadership Academy, Larchmont Charter School, New West Charter School, PUC Schools, Synergy Charter Schools, Value Schools and the Watts Learning Center.

This report’s methodology analyzed Los Angeles charter school performance utilizing Geographic Information Systems mapping software, based on a foundation of national research and was authored by Stanford Ph.D. Aisha Toney, Senior Data Analyst for the California Charter Schools Association and Elizabeth Robitaille, Ed.D., MBA, Vice President, School Achievement Data Team for the California Charter Schools Association.

About the California Charter Schools Association

The California Charter Schools Association is the membership and professional organization serving over 800 charter public schools that serve over a quarter million charter school students in the state of California. The Association’s mission is to improve student achievement by supporting and expanding California’s quality charter public school movement. www.myschool.org.