Bang for the Buck: Autonomy and Charter School Efficiency in Milwaukee

Autor/in	Flanders, Will
Titel	Bang for the Buck: Autonomy and Charter School Efficiency in Milwaukee
Quelle	In: Journal of School Choice, 11 (2017) 2, S.282-297 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1558-2159
DOI	10.1080/15582159.2016.1263540
Schlagwörter	Charter Schools; School Choice; Institutional Autonomy; School Districts; Academic Achievement; Outcomes of Education; Efficiency; Evidence; Expenditures; Public Schools; Comparative Analysis; Institutional Characteristics; Scores; Regression (Statistics); Science Tests; Mathematics Tests; Science Achievement; Mathematics Achievement; Educational Finance; Elementary Secondary Education; Achievement Tests; Wisconsin (Milwaukee); Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Charter school; Charter-Schule; Choice of school; Schulwahl; Institutionelle Autonomie; School district; Schulbezirk; Schulleistung; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Effectiveness; Effektivität; Wirkungsgrad; Evidenz; Ausgaben; Public school; Öffentliche Schule; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Mathmatics sikills; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematical ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Bildungsfonds; Achievement test; Achievement; Testing; Test; Tests; Leistungsbeurteilung; Leistungsüberprüfung; Leistung; Testdurchführung; Testen
Abstract	Charter schools are a relatively new phenomenon in American education. Since the first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1991, they have expanded to 42 states and represent 6.2% of all public schools in the country. This growth has been attributed to a number of factors, chief among them evidence that charter schools can improve performance (Lamdin and Mintrom, 1997). While there is a substantial evidence for relative performance benefits of charter schooling (e.g. CREDO, 2015) far less research been conducted on the efficiency of charter schools relative to traditional public schools. What research there is has produced both positive (e.g. Wolf et. al., 2014) and negative results (e.g. Carpenter and Noller, 2010). What can account for the disparity in these findings? In this paper, I make the case that differences in charter efficiency may be accounted for by differences in their level of autonomy from the school district. I base this argument on economic theories that the devolution of power to the lowest level possible tends to produce gains in efficiency (Johnson, 1991; Duncombe and Yinger, 1997). Those that are "on the ground" are thought to be more effective at monitoring expenditures, and allocations of resources have to pass through less "red tape (Hess 2006)." In addition, more autonomous charter schools better fit the original purpose of charter schools in devolving power from centralized authorities (Budde, 1996). In order to test this theory, I take advantage of a unique situation that exists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in which three types of charter schools with varying levels of autonomy operate simultaneously. Using school type as a proxy for autonomy, I find that more independent charter schools are more efficient than traditional public schools and charter schools with less autonomy. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01