The Pros And Cons Of Charter Schools

Introduction

Charter schools are institutions that receive public funding and operate with more autonomy than regular public schools. Charter school proponents contend that they provide parents with more alternatives for where their children might attend school, encourage educational innovation, and generate competition that raises standards for all students (Redd et al., 2014). Contrarily, detractors contend that charter schools worsen educational disparities, lack the same accountability requirements as regular public schools, and weaken public education by taking funding away from them. Using data from scholarly publications and analyses from policy groups, this paper will look at the contrasting perspectives on charter schools.

Proponents

First, detractors claim that charter schools aggravate educational inequities. Charter schools exhibit higher levels of racial and socioeconomic segregation than conventional public schools. According to Raymond (2014), this is partly because charter schools are frequently found in metropolitan areas with significant levels of segregation and poverty. As a result, charter schools frequently serve a student population that is more affluent than regular public schools, aggravating already-existing educational imbalances.

Second, detractors contend that accountability requirements for charter schools differ from those for regular public schools. According to Raymond (2014), charter schools are often excluded from many of the rules that govern regular public schools, such as those pertaining to student testing, curriculum requirements, and teacher certification. Concerns regarding fraud, bad administration, and subpar academic performance at certain charter schools have arisen as a result of this lack of

As a result, charter schools would have to follow the same rules regarding student testing, instructor certification, and curriculum standards (Reckhow et al., 2014). Also, charter schools might need to show that they serve a diverse student body and not escalate existing educational disparities. Making sure that funding for charter schools does not come at the expense of regular public schools is another option. This might be accomplished by providing charter schools with more financing or by putting regulations that guarantee that revenue is divided equally across charter and regular public