By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – An advocacy group for charter schools in New York is taking issue with published reports that indicate student performance is behind that of traditional public schools.
The New York Charter School Resource Center says the data show there is no discernable difference in student performance. Center Vice President Peter Murphy says the American Teachers Federation, which reviewed raw test scores, failed to take into account the student make-up of individual schools.
"Students who have failed in traditional school districts are seeking another choice. They're going to charter schools," Murphy said. "So, the typical charter school has a higher percentage of minority students and a higher percentage of lower performing students."
Because of that, the State Board of Regents found that student academic performance in New York charter schools tends to be mixed. But Murphy says the rate of improvement is higher among charter school students than most of their public school counterparts.