O'Connell Outlines Plan For California Schools Jack O'Connell, California Superintendent of Public Instruction, recently outlined his 2004 accomplishments as well as his goals for 2005. Included in his list of achievements for 2004 was the award to the California Department of Education (CDE) "a $75 million grant from the federal Public Charter Schools Grant Program to be used in the development of up to 254 charter schools by 2007."

Though none of his 2005 goals are charter school specific, the San Jose Mercury News (subscription) reported that during a press conference he did mention that "We want to replicate good charter schools and weed out the bad charter schools that are not out there to invest in public education." In 2004, CDE stepped up its oversight of charter schools which led to the closure of Victorville-based California Charter Academy.

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Rocklin Academy Charter Renewed (Placer County) The Rocklin Unified School District renewed the charter of Rocklin Academy(enrollment ~170) extending it through 2010. Rocklin Academy is the only charter school operating in the Rocklin Unified school District and is one of only two active charter schools in Placer County (according to the California Department of Education). ¶ 5:44 AM

High Tech High shoots for 2005 start in Foster City "High Tech High on Dec. 17 filed the first set of paperwork requesting a zoning variance to seek approval to develop and operate a 500-student public charter high school in an existing office building" in Foster City. The target opening date for the school is September 2005. (San Francisco Examiner) ¶ 3:44 AM

2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress

The mathematics and reading performance of White, Black and Hispanic fourth graders in charter schools is not measurably different from the performance of fourth graders with similar racial/ethnic backgrounds in other public schools, according to results of a pilot study released today. Other findings from the study do not show any consistent pattern of differences between charter schools and other public schools. [1]

The report, widely circulated in the media (see the Los Angeles Times Article [2] - subscription required), and Darvin Winick, Chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, who comissioned the study, noted that "Developing a sample of students that fairly represent the charter school population presents a real challenge ... Parents select charter schools for their children for reasons that may make the charter school population different from other public schools. Most charter schools are relatively new and charters are not evenly distributed across the country. Few students have been in a charter setting for much of their education."
That said, the study did identify "two sets of findings that reflect comparative differences between charter schools and other public schools:"

1. Charter schools tend to enroll more Black students, locate more often in central cities, and hire less experienced and certified teachers.
2. The mathematics and reading performance of White, Black and Hispanic fourth graders in charter schools was not measurably different from the performance of fourth graders with similar racial/ethnic backgrounds in other public schools. [3]

The study was performed by the National Center for Education Statistics and details can be found here.
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