Charter schools--public schools that are exempt from many of the procedural regulations
that apply to regular public schools--are a widespread but poorly-studied form of education
reform. With nearly 2,700 charter schools now educating more than 684,000 children
nationwide, policymakers and parents need to know how the education charter schools
provide compares to that provided by regular public schools. Assessing the academic
performance of charter schools is difficult, because many charter schools are targeted …

Despite the fact that charter schools serve over 684,000 children nationwide, they remain a
poorly studied form of education reform. This is primarily because many charter schools
serve targeted populations such as at-risk, disabled, or delinquent students, which makes it
very difficult for researchers to draw a fair comparison between charter schools and regular
public schools. This study is the first national study to compare