Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2021

Keywords

Charter schools, performance metrics, African Americans, African American students, racial inequity

Abstract

Charter schools can have their charters rescinded if they fail to meet performance metrics, which are often specified in the charter. In some states, however, charters must meet inflexible, standardized performance standards to survive. Through the lens of public choice theory, we hypothesize that charters that were established by African Americans and those which serve more African American students are more likely to close, and that state-imposed standardized closure rules exacerbate these inequities. Analyses using charter petitions (n=925) and National Center for Education Statistics data since 2010 (n=5,548), tend to confirm hypotheses: The percentage of African American students and having an African American founder were associated with charter school closure. Moreover, automatic standardized closure criteria disparately amplifies the effects.

Series Title

EDRE Working Paper

Series Number

2021-06

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