National Alliance Calls Attention to Achievement Gap Study

Washington, D.C. – Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, issued the following statement on the findings of the Education Equality Index released by Education Cities today:

"The findings from the Education Equality Index clearly illustrate the large achievement gaps plaguing our K-12 education system. Nevertheless, many schools are making significant strides in providing high-quality opportunities to all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background, and charter public schools are leading the way.

Nearly 30 percent of the 610 achievement gap-closing schools recognized in this study are charter schools. Moreover, a large number of charter schools are identified in cities such as Denver, Boston, Los Angeles, Tucson and Oakland, which are narrowing the achievement gap compared to the state average. In Hialeah, Fla., which ranks first among cities with the smallest achievement gap, 80 percent of the gap-closing schools are charter schools.

While we celebrate the schools that are significantly improving student achievement, this report is a reminder of the need for even more high-quality charter schools. Charter schools have shown impressive results in serving students from all backgrounds, and parental demand for more charter schools is at an all-time high, with a million student names on wait lists."

About Charter Schools
Charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.

About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org .