A new report by the University of Arkansas found Memphis families are getting a slightly higher performance from their education dollars at public charter schools.
That report analyzed public charter school performance and investment in nine cities, including Memphis, where nearly a fourth of students attended a public charter school during the 2019/2020 school year studied.
The University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform found public charter schools in Memphis received $800 per student less each year than traditional public schools in Memphis but still scored roughly the same on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
That difference amounted to an additional 1.29 points on NAEP reading scores per $1,000 funded in Memphis and an additional 1.44 points in math according to researchers.
Public charter schools in other states saw an even greater difference in performance per $1,000 funded, including more than 10 points higher in both reading and math in Indianapolis. Overall public charter students scored an average of more than 4 points higher per $1,000 in reading and math.
“Operating under more autonomy than traditional public schools (TPS), charter schools can be more innovative, tailoring the educational experience to serve their students’ unique needs. Relative to similar TPS (traditional public school) students, charter school students, on average, perform slightly better on standardized tests, graduate high school at higher rates, enroll in college at higher rates, and have more e positive behavioral outcomes,” wrote researchers.
Researchers also examined what this higher performance meant for students after graduation.
The study estimated public charter students in the nine cities end up earning $6.25 per dollar invested in them, compared to $3.94 per dollar invested at traditional public schools.
This difference was lower for students in Memphis, but public charter students still earn an estimated 31 cents more per dollar invested than their traditional public school counterparts.
“We find that charter schools tend to demonstrate greater efficiency on both metrics of cost-effectiveness and return on investment, using fewer dollars to achieve better outcomes, relative to TPS (traditional public schools),” wrote researchers at the University of Arkansas. “Our report suggests that TPS leaders charter school operators who have could learn lessons from charter school already been operating on tighter budgets academic quality.”
