Study Says Low-Performing Public Schools Stay Open For Years With Little Improvement

Education Week (12/14) reports that according to a study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Basis Policy Research in North Carolina, "the lowest-performing public K-8 schools often linger in that state for years, neither improving enough to get off accountability life support nor being shuttered completely." The study also found that "persistently failing charter schools fare no better than regular public schools." Researchers looked at low-performing K-8 schools "in the 10 biggest charter school states: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin" and also found that "charters were more likely than noncharter public schools to improve moderately rather than dramatically, but only 9 percent of either group of schools made at least moderate improvement." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (12/14, Richards) also covers the story.