The New York Public schools and New York Charter Schools - Dissertation Example

The New York Public schools and New York Charter Schools CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The New York Public schools have been involved with charter schools for many years. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation insured that all schools would need to become more accountable for the achievement of their students, especially in the areas of reading and math. This research will describe the ways in which charter schools differ from public schools and it will compare the achievement in the areas of reading and math for both charter and public schools. Although there is a perception (generally) that the education in charter schools are vastly different than those in public schools, this research seeks to understand whether there is a difference in New York schools. The research will also review the beginning aspects of charter schools and draw a comparison of the positives and negatives of both charter and public schools. The Early Years of Charter Schools In 1988, Ray Budde and Albert Shanker announced their work on the concepts of charter schools and the fundamentals behind it (Budde 1988; Shanker, 1988. The first charter school law was passed in 1991, and the first charter school opened its doors in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1992; since then charter schools have grown. Once charter schools became an accepted alternative to public schools, there was a need them to be as accountable for students’ education as the public schools (Hill, Lake, Celio, Campbell, Herdman, & Bulkley, 2001; Lake, 2006). Other states began to create their own charters in order to give parents and children an alternative to public schools. As an example, California initiated a law to in 1992, showed how their charter schools would stay accountable. The Charter School Act for New York State passed in December 1998, allowed for the production of independent self–governing public schools. The law essentially stated that New York charter schools would meet state standards, regent’s requirements, state, health, safety, civil rights, and student assessments just like all public schools (About Charter Schools, 2010). Positive and Negative Aspects of Charter Schools vs. Public Schools One of the largest differences between public and charter schools is that children are allowed to go to charter schools regardless of where they live. This gives parents and students a choice of schools and they are able to choose a school that they feel is the best choice for their children. In some ways, this action creates a need for public schools to develop more challenging The public schools limit their students to those who live within their specific districts. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) (2011) many charter schools will help to reform public schools but they are limited in scope so they will not be able to foster and entire public school system (NCSL, 2011). When looking at the positive and negative aspects of public schools, it is important to point out that public schools are free and the provide transportation to and from school for the children. Because the school is in the neighborhood, children will attend with their friends. This can also be a negative attribute for public schools if their friends include gang members or people who would get them into trouble in some way. Parents and children will not have a choice as to where their children go because they must go to their district school (Evans, 2009). Unfortunately, today, there is so much emphasis on standardized testing that some schools have cut out important activities like art, music and sports; some schools have cut out recess for children in order to make sure they pass the school standards. All of these factors for charter and public schools must be taken into account when discussing the differences in achievement between schools, because these factors can impact student achievement. Charter Schools in New York Charter schools are under a five-year performance contract (charter) that tracks student performance in Math and ELA. According to the New York City Charter School Center (2010) “They are exempt from many public school regulations for curriculum development, staffing and budgeting, but they are held accountable for students academic performance and specific goals set fourth in their charter” (para. 1). If the charter school does not meet the demands of their Charter the school is at risk for contract termination. If the charter school loses the sponsor(s) then it can be dissolved. The majority of New York City applicants who request Charter schools are Black or Hispanic, and often from poor socio-economic families (Hoxby, Murarka, 2008). The majority of Charter schools in this area are located in poor,lower-class neighborhoods with 64% black, 7% White or Asian, and 27% Hispanic; half of the students are female (Hoxby, Murarka, 2008). Figure 2 below provides more information on this topic: Over two decades ago, Shanker (1988) and Budde (1988) expressed their views about this topic. Shanker noted that as long as charter schools continued to exist and they found teachers to teach in them, they would exist over time. These schools would have to make sure that they met “student achievement indicators”. Shanker aslo expected that “by the end of [the five to ten year period], the school could be evaluated to see the extent to which it met its goal, and the charter could be extended or revoked where necessary (Shanker, 1988, p. 88). Budde (1988) responded to Shanker and spoke of the issues that a team that was planning a charter should consider. Some of the issues to consider were “its philosophy, methodology, the manner in which it would help pupils acquire, lifelong skills and the learning needs of specific groups and numbers of students” (Budde, 1988, p. 51). Budde also saw the need for charter schools to be evaluated in terms of their achievement and a determination of whether they should continue or be stopped should be made. Both authors were ahead of their time in this discussion but they made the important point that schools should be accountable whether they were public or charter schools. Statement of the Problem After preliminary research it seems that parents are choosing charter schools because they perceive that they are more equipped to help their children achieve than public schools. In most cases children in charter schools score higher on standardized tests than those students in public school. The question is, “Why does this happen?” Public schools are touted as the place for most children to go whether they are performing well or not because of the federal funding they receive. This research seeks to discern more clearly whether this is true or whether this is just the perception that parents and some communities have about these schools. One challenge is that some charter schools are doing better and others are not. As an example, according to Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) (2009) the states where “significantly higher learning gains for charter students” are “Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana and Missouri” p. 3). Of course, this information was from 2009, but it is used her to show that the differences in charter school achievement can vary state to state. The Response to The NCLB Legislation in New York and Student Performance According to Ravitch (2011) “Ten years ago, Congress adopted the No Child Left Behind legislation, mandating that all students must be proficient in reading or mathematics by 2014 or their school would be punished” (para. 1). In 1998, the authorization Act of Charter Schools established in New York State (Hoxby, Murarka, Kang, NYC Charter Schools Evaluation Project, 2009) reinforced the NCLB legislation and suggested that schools would need to be more accountable in their work with students. Because of this legislation, Charter schools have become an extremely popular trend in the United States of America because of how this legislation was interpreted by the states as a nee to focus on standardized testing. In looking at the. New York City 2009 – 2010 Mathematics and English Language Arts citywide test results grades 3 – 8 are as follows: a total of 423,392 students took the Math State Test and a total of 415,578 students took the ELA State Test (New York City Department of Education Research and Policy Support Group, July 2010). When these students were broken down by Public verses Charter schools, the numbers change a bit: In 2009 – 2010 10,193 students took the ELA State Test and 405,385 students took the ELA State Test in regular Public Schools. 10,116 Charter School students and 413,276 Public School students took the Math State Test. These tests results clearly show that Charter schools have a better rate of improvement for students who attend them. In the New York City Public School system, 63 % of the Charter School (District # 84) students scored proficient or higher in on the Math State Exam compared to 54 % of the New York City total Public School Students. The ELA scores were a bit closer to each other. The New York City Charter Schools had a 43 % of scoring proficient or higher compared to the 42 % that the New York City total Public Schools received scoring proficient or higher during the 2009-2010 year (New York City Accountability Data). According to Center for Education Reform (2009) “By the time a charter schools student has reached the end of eighth grade, our estimates indicate that he will be scoring about 30 points higher in math than he would have been scoring if he had been lotteried-out and remained in the regular public schools” (para. 1). As some of the Charter Schools in the United States have flourished, others have not met the performance level requirements and due to this lack of academic achievement, they have lost their charter and/or financial funding to keep the Charter School opened. New York City Charter Schools (District # 84) receive their state and local funding by the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE). They also get some of their funding from state and federal grants and raising money with funds. Charter schools do not get monies allocated by city, state and federal funding. As suggested in the background section of this study, public schools have been around for a long period of time while charter schools have only developed for several decades (Lake & Hill, 2005). With all that’s been said, it doesn’t matter whether it is a public school or a charter school, the performance level and accountability of each individual student is a must (Charter School Achievement Consensus Panel, 2006). Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to conduct mixed method research that will bring together both qualitative and quantitative research designs to understand the merits of charter schools vs. public schools. The researcher will use a probability sampling to compare the academic achievements of New York City Public School students and students in New York City Charter schools in grades 3 through 8 as measured by 2009 – 2010 ELA and Math State exams. The significance of this study is to provide solid information as to whether Charter schools are out performing public schools and to determine what charter schools are doing to promote student achievement. This methodology will require conversations with teachers and parents in these schools as well as and leaders in two New York City schools. According to Creswell (2008), “The process of collecting quantitative data consists of more than simply collecting data. You decide on what participants you will study” (p. 150). By analyzing the New York State ELA and Math exam scores of grades 3 through 8, this research study will decide which schools (NYC traditional public schools or NYC charter schools) are best for testing students in grades 3 through 8 for Math. According to Schemo (2006) a 2003 study found that “fourth graders in traditional public schools scored an average of 4.2 points better in reading than students in charter schools on the National Assessment of Educational Progress Test, often called the nation’s report card” (para. 4). Schemo also stated that traditional school students scored 4.7 points better in mathematics compared to charter schools (Schemo, 2006). This is important information especially in light of the movement for school reform. Creswell also states that (2008), “In probability sampling, the researcher selects individuals from the population who are representative of that population” (p. 151). The population sampling must be performed carefully due to generalizations to the population can be made (Creswell, 2008). The samples will closely represent the characteristics of the entire population (Salkind, 2008, p.122). Data will be gathered from the Department of Education research division for all New York City Public Schools and all New York City Charter Schools based on the results of the 2009-2010 New York State English Language Arts and New York State Mathematics performance levels. A comparison of the affect of academic achievement performance scores grades 3 through 8 on the New York State English Language Arts State exam and New York State Math State exam from 2009 – 2010 of New York City Public School and Charter School students will be executed. It will be important to understand why parents leave public schools in favor of Charter schools and why they are dissatisfied with public school. According to A National Study of Charter schools (U.S. Department of Education, 1998), there are four areas of dissatisfaction within the public school system that drives parents to consider charter schools: concerns about the academic program – a poor school culture, health and safety, and accessibility for parents. According to Ravitch (2010) “Charters in New York City have important advantages that make them different from the rest of the nation. Many have wealthy sponsors who donate millions of dollars to their schools. This helps them to have smaller classes and more resources than the local public schools” (para. 6). When data is organized and prepared it will be ready to be analyzed. This study will organize, prepare and analyze data by using descriptive and inferential statistics including correlation coefficient by using statistics. Pie graphs, histograms, bar graphs, frequency distributions, and cross tabulations will be included in the descriptive statistics. According to Creswell (2008), “Descriptive statistics present information that helps a researcher describe responses to each question in a database as well as determine overall trends and the distribution of data” (p. 638). Inferential statistics such as correlation coefficient will be used to determine between academic performances of New York City Public Schools and New York City Charter Schools. A deciphering sample to the population of participant’s allows the researcher to use inferential statistics (Creswell, 2008). The description and measure between two or more variables using scores will be performed by correlation coefficient. Results of a t-test for independent means will be used to determine the significance of the correlation. The t-test (two-tailed) of independent means will be used to determine the significance of the correlation coefficient. The significance level (alpha level) will be set at .05 for rejecting the null hypothesis. The p value will be computed and the determination will be made if it falls within the critical region. The p value will be compared with the value in the table found in a statistic book in relation to the t-test using the significance level (two tailed) and the degrees of freedom (Creswell, 2008, p.197). The decision about rejecting or failing to reject the null hypothesis will be made. Research Question To be able to address the purpose of this study, the following research question is addressed: 1. How does academic achievement in New York City Public Schools compare to the academic achievement of New York City Charter Schools as measured by 2009 – 2010 New York State E.L.A and Math Exams? 2. What are the dissatisfiers that parents have that make them take their children out of public school and place them into Charter schools? 3. What are the opportunities for children in Charter schools that make them score higher on Math and Reading tests than those students in public schools? The effect of these results will have a bearing on how teachers react to school reform in certain situations. The research may create specific ideas as to how this information can be used to further assist students in the public schools. The factors that are involved with Charter schools that surpass public schools will also be detailed so that teachers in the public schools may glean information that is important to their students’ success. REFERENCES Budde, R. (1988). Education by charter: Restructuring school districts. Andover, MA: The Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the Northeast & Islands. Carpenter, B. (2006a). Comprehensive examination written responses presented in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosphy (p. 76): Capella University. Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). (2009). Multiple choice: Charter school performance in 16 states. Stanford University. Retrieved from http://credo.stanford.edu/reports/MULTIPLE_CHOICE_CREDO.pdf Charter School Achievement Consensus Panel. (2006, May). Key issues in studying Charter schools and achievement: A review and suggestions for national Guidelines: Seattle, WA: University of Washington National Charter School Research Project Center on Reinventing Public Education, Betts, J., & Hill, P. T. Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson. Deeptha, T. (n.d.). A History of Public Education in the United States. Para. 4. Retrieved from A History of Public Education In The United States.htm NYC Charter Schools 2010 – para 1 Evans, J. (18 July 2009). Pros and cons of public schools. Parenting Resources Suite 101. Retrieved from http://www.suite101.com/content/pros-and-cons-of-public-schools-a132538 Hill, P.T., Lake, R., Celio, M. B., Campbell, C., Herdman, P., & Bulkley, K. (2001). A Study of charter schools accountability. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/pubs/chartacct/chartacct_toc_summ.pdf Hoxby, C. M., Muraka, S. & Kang, J. (2009, September). “How New York City’s Charter Schools Affect Achievement.” Second report in series. Cambridge, MA: New York City Charter Schools Evaluation Project, September 2009. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/~schools/charterschoolseval/. http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/data/TestResults/ELAandMathResults Kolderie, T., & Education/Evolving (Minn.). (2004). Creating the capacity for change: How and why governors and legislatures are opening a new-schools sector in Public education. Washington, DC: Education Week Press. National Conference of State Legislatures. (2011). Charter schools: Pros and cons. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=12921 Ravitch, D. (2010,January 13). “New York City charter schools need to focus on the neediest”. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/01/13/2010-01-13_new_york_city_charter_schools_need_to_focus_on_the_neediest.html Ravitch, D. (2011, May 31). “Waiting for a school miracle.” The New York Times. Retrieved From http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/opinion/01ravitch.html Salkind, N.J. (2008). Statistics for people who think they hate statistics. (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications. Schemo, D., J. (2006, August 23). “Study of test scores finds Charter Schools lagging.” The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2006/08/23/education/23charter.html Shanker, A. (1988). Reconstructing our schools Peabody Journal of Education, 65(3), 88- 100. (DOI:?) Watson, S. (n.d.). “How Public Schools Works.”. A Discovery Company. The History of Public Schools in America. Retrieved from http://people.howstuffworks.com/public-schools1.htm Read More