E&W Blog

Every student deserves a high-quality education that prepares him or her for success later in life, and the systemic failures of traditional public schools have never been more evident than in the post-COVID education landscape. In this new environment, charter schools are an increasingly popular public school choice option—serving nearly 4 million students in 44 states.

Today, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing to examine the benefits of charter schools.

Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) kicked off the hearing saying, “As the recent Nation’s Report Card made clear, our education system has been in a state of steady and alarming decline. But charters are a rare bright spot. It’s uncommon to find widespread education innovation that succeeds, helping millions of students, year after year. But charter schools do exactly that.”

Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) asked Mr. David Griffith, Associate Director of Research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, why impoverished students tend to perform so well at charter schools. “Many of these students are coming from some of the worst traditional public schools, so the counterfactual is not great. They are often looking for a lifeline and just a place where they can get a basic education. The second thing I would highlight is just high expectations. We did a study of charter schools in North Carolina, and we found that teachers in charter schools had systemically higher expectations of their students. We all know that if you have low expectations, they will sink to those expectations but if you hold high expectations for them, they will rise to meet them,” Mr. Griffith replied. 

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) asked, “How many parents are waiting on a list to come to a school like [yours]?” Ms. Eva Moskowitz, CEO and President of National Strategy and Advancement, Success Academy Charter Schools, replied, “Last year we had 28,000 applicants for 3,000 spots, and it’s quite heartbreaking.”

Rep. James Moylan (R-GU) asked the simple question of why parents choose charter schools over other options. “Most of our families are trying to escape a multi-generational failing school. Their grandmother went to a failing school, and then their mother went to a failing school because that is the only option. Finally, when success goes into neighborhoods through charters, there is finally an option,” Ms. Moskowitz explained. 

“We see all over the country several schools that specifically focus on students who have been left behind or not had success in the traditional system and so the school is built for them, and those students thrive. I can think about a school where they have a student population that is much more disadvantaged than the rest of the state and their student outcomes actually outperform the average student in the state of Utah,” said Mr. Darryl Cobb, President of Charter School Growth Fund.

At one point, Subcommittee Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) criticized charter schools for being too focused on test scores. Ms. Moskowitz pushed back on this: “We wouldn’t have investment in art, music, chess, dance, and athletics if we were just interested in test scores. But we do think preparing kids for tests is important. If our kids can’t pass these tests, we are in big, deep trouble because the tests are not that hard and what they need to do in life is a lot harder.”

Bottom line: Charter schools have proved to be a lifeline and a great option for many students and families stuck in failing schools. Republicans are committed to initiatives that expand and protect educational freedom.