RSG | Press Page: Charter Schools No Panacea

National analysis of charter school test results demonstrates the complexity of improving education for low-performing students. The formula for success is not as simple as moving chairs around or handing the task over to private enterprise.

According to the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation's report card, students in charter schools scored lower on tests than students in regular classrooms. Fourth-graders enrolled in charter schools, broken down by race and ethnicity, performed across the board about a half-year behind their public school peers in both math and reading.

These results poke holes in the privatization-as-panacea theory that undergirds the No Child Left Behind law, the centerpiece of the Bush administration's education policy.

Charter schools are privately run, self-governed schools that operate outside the authority of publicly accountable school boards. They have greater flexibility in terms of hiring and teaching techniques. Supporters consider them a desirable alternative to failing public schools, which, under the No Child Left Behind law, must meet government standards or face ultimate dissolution.

Fortunately, Connecticut is putting its education muscle to better use - improving its public schools. Its strategies include creating regional magnet alternatives or host magnets: city schools with specialized themes.

Still, more needs to be done to close the achievement gap. In Hartford, for example, mastery test scores are no longer the worst in the state. But they are still abysmal, and have been relatively flat for the past four years despite spending a total of about $50,000 per child during that time period.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has taken the bold step of declaring that her administration will make Connecticut a national model for early childhood education. This is a promising strategy. Preschool has been proved to give children a head start in math, language and literacy skills.

The governor has made an excellent choice in asking Janice Gruendel to help the state Department of Education develop a plan for expanding participation in school readiness programs. A co-founder and co-president of Connecticut Voices for Children, Ms. Gruendel is a nationally recognized expert in the field.

Done right, the investment in preschool education will be costly. But the governor is right that making it possible for all 3- and 4-year-old income-eligible children to get a jump on learning will be far cheaper than the cost of failure.