Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Good enough for Harlem, not good enough for Mississippi



Jason Riley writes in the Wall Street Journal last week about the success charter schools are having in Harlem:
"New York state passed a charter law in 1998, and the first charter school in Harlem opened the next year. But it is New York City's mayoral control law, passed in 2002, that's allowed school choice for low-income families to blossom. Mayor Mike Bloomberg has the authority to hire and fire the schools chancellor and appoint a majority of the city's board of education, which previously had been controlled by teachers unions.

Today there are 24 Harlem charters. They select students by lottery, and they educate about 7,700 of the community's 50,000 school-age kids. Another 5,700 children matriculate at one of Harlem's 30 private and parochial schools.

"Harlem now has more school choice per square foot than any other place in the country," says Eva Moskowitz, who operates four charters in Harlem. Nationwide, the average black 12th grader reads at the level of a white eighth grader. Yet Harlem charter students at schools like KIPP and Democracy Prep are outperforming their white peers in wealthy suburbs. At the Promise Academy charter schools, 97% of third graders scored at or above grade level in math. At Harlem Village Academy, 100% of eighth graders aced the state science exam. Every third grader at Harlem Success Academy 1, operated by Ms. Moskowitz, passed the state math exam, and 71% of them achieved the top score
..." Column

In fact, this study by Stanford Professor Caroline Hoxby compared charter schools and regular public schools in New York City. study Some highlights from the study:
*"The most distinctive feature of the study is that charter schools' effects on achievement are estimated by the best available, "gold standard" method: lotteries. 94 percent of charter school students in New York City are admitted to a school after having participated in a random lottery for school places." In other words, no cherry picking.

*"charter schools' neighborhoods are about 40 percent black non-Hispanic whereas New York City as a whole is only about 22 percent black non-Hispanic. Charter schools' neighborhoods are about 38 percent Hispanic whereas New York City as a whole is only about 25 percent Hispanic.
Charter schools' neighborhoods are also economically disadvantaged. For instance, the average household income in charter schools' census tracts is $37,639 while it is $59,743 in New York City overall. 43.7 percent of households in charter schools' neighborhoods have incomes less than $20,000, but only 28.4 percent of New York City households have such low incomes." See See page 14 of study

*"On average, a student who attended a charter school for all of grades kindergarten through eight would close about 86 percent of the "Scarsdale-Harlem achievement gap" in math and 66 percent of the achievement gap in English."

*"the lotteried-in students who attend New York City's charter schools start out with the same level of achievement as the lotteried-out students who attend the city's regular public schools. By the third grade, the average charter school student is 5.8 points ahead of his lotteried-out counterpart in math and 5.3 points ahead in English Language Arts. In grades four through eight, the average charter school student gains 5.0 more points each year in math and 3.6 more points each year in English than his lotteried-out counterpart. Remember, these gains are in addition to whatever gains the students would have been expected to make in the regular public schools, had they been lotteried-out
." (p.43)

Meanwhile, David Jordan from Greenwood brings the wood for the Klan in smacking charter schools away from minority children as he blocks any substantive charter school legislation.

15 comments:

Paul Mitchell said...

Good post, Kingfish. If the Democrats could ever get rid of the Klan members in their party, it would certainly be a good thing, but racism is kinda like the whole point of the Democrat Party.

Anonymous said...

and you think racism is not the point the of GOP? What planet are you living on? It started with Goldwater and pervdes the party ever since. Remember Willie Horton? You don't hink that was race based.

Paul Mitchell said...

Anon 10:24, history is not your strong suit, huh? The word for which you search is "projecting."

Kingfish said...

Alvin, is that you? Goldwater opposed the civil rights acts because he opposed the government telling someone who you can and can not hire. There are reasons to oppose the Civil Rights Act that are not racist ones although racism is the reason most people opposed it back then.

Willie Horton was started by Gore, not Bush and it was a legitimate issue just like if Huckabee runs, he should be called on the carpet by Dems and Repub's alike for his setting murderers free.

gg said...

The ironic part of the charter school issue in MS is that the main opponents of charter schools are members of the black caucus, those who represent the children the current school system is failing.

Anonymous said...

Cecil Brown is a main opponent. He's an honorary member of the LBC. I won't venture to guess about any potential Klan connections.

Anonymous said...

David Jordan is not from Greenville. He is a boil on the butt of Greenwood, MS. He spoke out quite clearly in a city council meeting about there being no problems in the Greenwood city schools. Although all are at risk or failing except one. He fancies himself a crusader for the rights of the minority, unfortunately he failed to leave the 60's.

Anonymous said...

Cecil's not racist...didn't send his kids to all white schools. With him, it's probably about the start up costs and/or feasibility.

Paul Mitchell said...

Anon 7:45, I am really curious to know where these "all white schools" are. This is information that would certainly be beneficial.

Anonymous said...

How long ago was it when Cecil kids were in K-12?

Anonymous said...

With him, it's probably about the start up costs and/or feasibility.

Bullshit.

Anonymous said...

829 about 7 years ago.

8:21 I am a conservative and not a knee jerk Republican. I'd rather have a Democrat that is fiscally conservative and actually understands finance and economics and can read a budget than a Republican who can't add and subtract and can get the wool pulled over his eyes.

There's a reason the Republican Congress during the Bush years spent like drunken sailors.

Wake UP!

Anonymous said...

There you go again. Cecil Brown ain't no fiscal conservative.

Anonymous said...

Mississippi doesn't need charter schools, the public schools roll out fine graduates every year. I should know, I are one.

Anonymous said...

Mississippi doesn't need any charter schools. Our public schools roll out fine graduates every year. I should know, I are one.



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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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