While flipping through this weekend’s edition of the Wall Street Journal, I came across a great piece about the success of charter schools in Harlem (read full article here). New York City’s progress reports for all of its 1,230 schools showed that charter schools have out-performed the rest of the city’s district-run schools by a wide margin. According to the article, eight of the top 11 elementary and middle schools are charters, four of which are located in Harlem. Although those who oppose charter schools, and school choice generally, would attribute this success to the way charters “cherry pick” the best students in the district, it is simply not true. Charter schools, including those in Harlem, run “lotteries” to select their students; it is really a matter of luck if a child wins a spot in the charter school.
While the lucky ones get into the high-performing charter schools, the unlucky are stuck in their district-run school. For those of you who have seen Waiting for Superman, you know just how heartbreaking missing out on a charter school spot can be for both parents and students. The good news is that that may no longer be the case in Harlem, because Harlem’s district run schools have also shown marked improvement. In 2006 Harlem’s third-graders ranked 28th in math and 26th in English among all New York City districts. Today, however, they rank 16th in math and 18th in English – quite a remarkable jump. The district-run schools are performing better, in part because the great charter schools in Harlem create competition. The district schools have to do better in order to keep their students.
Additionally, students across all grades in Harlem are now out-performing students in district schools on the West Side, a much more affluent area of the city. Not only has Harlem’s success shown that competition from high-performing charter schools push district-run schools to improve, but that the achievement gap can be closed. Although Harlem’s black majority has decreased over the past few years, blacks, along with Latinos, still make up the majority of students in its public schools. So to see such a big jump in performance among Harlem’s district-run schools – and in such a short period of time – is very encouraging.
Sure, the charter schools are still doing better than the district-run schools, but not to the detriment of the district-run schools. This is a common criticism of charter schools and school choice. But Harlem’s success proves that such criticisms are unfounded. Even better, this competition can help close the achievement gap because it raises the bar for all schools and all students. The fact that all schools in Harlem, not just charters, are improving shows not only that charter schools work but that school choice works – for everyone.
Additionally, students across all grades in Harlem are now out-performing students in district schools on the West Side, a much more affluent area of the city. Not only has Harlem’s success shown that competition from high-performing charter schools push district-run schools to improve, but that the achievement gap can be closed. Although Harlem’s black majority has decreased over the past few years, blacks, along with Latinos, still make up the majority of students in its public schools. So to see such a big jump in performance among Harlem’s district-run schools – and in such a short period of time – is very encouraging.
Sure, the charter schools are still doing better than the district-run schools, but not to the detriment of the district-run schools. This is a common criticism of charter schools and school choice. But Harlem’s success proves that such criticisms are unfounded. Even better, this competition can help close the achievement gap because it raises the bar for all schools and all students. The fact that all schools in Harlem, not just charters, are improving shows not only that charter schools work but that school choice works – for everyone.
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