YES. Texas public charter schools are dramatically narrowing, and in some cases completely reversing, decades-old achievement gaps.
For example, Texas public charters are flipping achievement gaps on their head in science: Hispanic students outperform their White peers by about 5 points.
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Texas Charter Schools Closing Achievement Gaps
Yes. Texas public charter schools are sending 4% more of their students to college than traditional public schools—and the difference is even greater for low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, and students learning English. More charter school students complete their post-secondary education, too.
In addition, more public charter school students take advanced courses while in high school, regardless of whether they choose to attend college—setting them up for success in the workforce of the future.
Many public charter schools in Texas have specific resources for students wishing to pursue careers right after high school, giving students a jump start on the technical training they’ll need to be successful. Public charter schools also have a proven record of sending more students to and through college, should they choose to attend.
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Rates of College Attendance for Charter School Students
Public charter schools in Texas have greater flexibility in their hiring decisions. This allows public charter schools to draw from a wide candidate pool, including content-area experts who may not have a traditional teacher certification, but who do have at least a baccalaureate degree. In fact, more charter school teachers have Masters or PhD degrees than their Independent School District (ISD) peers.
Traditional teacher certification is required for charter school teachers (just like ISD teachers) if they are in special education, bilingual/ESL, or pre-K. Overall, two-thirds of all public charter school teachers are certified, even though most aren’t required to be.
