Charter Schools Lag Behind Public Schools

Much of the talk about education in Texas in recent years, has centered on the question of private and charter schools being better than public schools. Now, it looks like that may not even be true. According to a new government report, public schools are actually outperforming charter schools. The report studied student performance on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress test given to fourth graders.

The report says the public school students scored higher on both the math and reading portions of the test. Public school students scored an average of 5.2 points higher in reading, and 5.8 points higher in math. The report was done by the National Center for Education Statistics, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. They compiled data from 150 charter schools and 6,764 traditional public schools.

Remember this study the next time someone starts touting school vouchers. Giving someone a voucher to attend a private school does not mean they will get a better education. It may even mean they won't get as good an education as they could have gotten in a public school.