How One Researcher Sums Up the Difference between Charter and Public Schools

Few topics in education stoke debate like charter schools.  Whether in the form of longform comedy bits like this one from John Oliver or this succinct defense, to discuss charter schools is often to invite passionate pleas.  But what does the research say?  In this video by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Notre Dame professor Mark Berends summarizes his empirical studies and offers some helpful insight. His insights, one should note, focus mostly on community perception, school environments, and achievement data.  Charter school opponents might say that because public funding is going to non-public agencies, even a net-zero comparison still has the effect of diverting funding from public accountability and stabilizing structures.

The class is yours, Dr. Berends.