NYC Charters Close the Gap

Caroline Hoxby presented findings of her NYC charter school study at the Columbia Business School Social Enterprise Forum.
Study highlights show that making a little progress every year closes achievement and graduation gaps:

*annual gap closing effects are moderately strong

*for every year students spend in a charter they are 7% more likely to graduate from high school

*attending a charter school for multiple years can close the achievement gap

Hoxby attributes charter success to

*governance (nonprofit + authorizer v school district)

*hiring discretion and lack of union work rules

*diagnostic assessment

*long day (8 v 5.5) and year (192 days v 178)

*pay based on performance & duties (not seniority & credentials)

Check out the full powerpoint.  Thanks to Whitney Tilson for pointing it out.