Pennsylvania Charter AYP Policy Sparks Controversy

The AP (10/25, Matheson) reports on the controversy surrounding Pennsylvania education officials' move to "measure charter school achievement by a different yardstick than traditional schools, a standard that critics say inflates the success of charters for political reasons." The piece notes that the state has already begun using this separate APY metric even though ED has yet to approve the move, noting that "public education advocates characterize the request as a stealth move by the state, favoring the charter lobby that supports Republican Gov. Tom Corbett." The AP characterizes ED's response as a "wrist-slap," and quotes an ED statement saying, "The department understands the pressures of time in getting these analyses done, reviewed, and published, however, (Pennsylvania) acted prematurely."