Petition 15-31: Why you should support charter school expansion in November

A very visible number of Tufts students are already revving up to vote in the general election this November. And while Clinton, Trump and Johnson are discussed furiously, the local issues that affect our community are often brushed aside. Case in point: Petition 15-31, or “An Act to Allow Fair Access to Public Charter Schools.” This referendum would allow for the creation of 12 additional charter schools per year beyond the current cap of 120 charter schools within the state of Massachusetts. It’s expected to be especially important in cities like Boston or Somerville, where the number of charter schools is near or at the limit. If enacted, the referendum would provide thousands of underprivileged students with access to greater education and more opportunity. 

The creation and expansion of charter schools is often a controversial subject, especially within liberal circles. While proponents boast of the overwhelming success of many charter schools, outspoken critics, such as New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, claim that their success is artificially produced. These critics allege that charter schools' apparent success is merely a result of teachers who direct lesson plans toward the standardized tests used to evaluate the school's' performance. Teachers' unions have also been constant critics of the schools, partly due to skepticism surrounding a charter schools’ incentive to "teach to the test," but largely because charter school teachers are often not unionized, and thus greatly decrease the unions' bargaining power. However, a 2014 study conducted by Sarah Cohodes of Harvard University found that Boston charter schools do not suffer the fate that critics like de Blasio claim they do. From her study, Cohodes concluded that although there are incentives to focus on frequently tested material, there was no evidence of this teach-for-the-test style pervading the classroom. 

Boston charter schools show remarkable effectiveness both in comparison to their public school counterparts and charter schools in other states. One study from the Center for Research on Educational Outcomes (CREDO) found that Massachusetts charter school students have significantly larger gains in math and reading than students enrolled in public schools. The study also found that the growth in learning rates were the largest that CREDO had seen in any state they had surveyed, suggesting that Massachusetts charter schools should serve as a model for other states looking to expand their programs.

The largest criticism of charter schools centers around their impact on local public schools. Firstly, many are concerned that money spent on charter schools is money not spent on public schools, and that public schools will become worse learning environments if they are competing for resources with local charter schools. Secondly, critics argue that as the better-performing students move out of local public schools, the average academic ability of students in those schools (and in turn, the test scores by which those schools are evaluated) will greatly decrease.

Yet, these same critics don’t denounce honors or AP students for leaving grade-level classes with less academic rigor, nor for using resources that may be more equitably spent on worse-performing students. Why would they? Few would claim that an AP teacher should be paid more because her students score higher on tests, and fortunately, that isn’t how funding for public and charter schools is evaluated either. A 2014 University of Arkansas nationwide study found that charter schools receive less funding per pupil than public schools. In other words, sending students to charter schools actually saves the school district money and allows public schools to use that extra money on higher salaries for teachers, new textbooks and better academic resources. 

Charter schools aren’t a catch-all solution to Massachusetts’ education problems. There will always be concerns about students who are unable to gain acceptance to charter schools being at a disadvantage, or about losing the brighter students in the public school system. But Massachusetts charter schools, with their high accountability, high expectations and high-achieving students, are often considered the gold standard for charter schools across the United States. Upholding this standard will provide students of the state — and students from Tufts’ local community — with greater opportunity for their own academic goals and for increased academic innovation. So, we encourage you to make it an absolute priority to vote on Nov. 8. And when you do, vote yes on Petition 15-31.