Student achievement gains eroded amid shift to “social justice” education
BOSTON – After years during which too many charter public schools turned away from the rigorous academic practices that made them the nation’s most successful urban education reform, the sector should return to the proven model that closed achievement gaps, according to a new “Charter School Toolkit” published by Pioneer Institute.
The case for renewal begins with a clear record of success: examining student outcomes in 29 states, Washington, D.C., and New York City between 2015 and 2019, Stanford University’s Center for Research on Educational Outcomes found that some 200 charter networks were closing or even reversing longstanding achievement gaps in reading, math or both.
“These charter school networks dramatically outperformed the urban districts their students would have attended, are less expensive to operate, and can scale without limit,” said Steven F. Wilson, who authored the Toolkit.
In recent years too many urban charters retreated from academic rigor. Newly minted teachers called for “social justice” education that braided political teachings into every lesson and regarded many of the networks’ distinctive practices—disciplined classrooms, rigorous curricula, and an extended school day a year—as “symptoms of white supremacist culture.” Teachers were asked to function as much as therapists as educators, as the belief was that before students could learn schools had to engage the trauma students and teachers carried from living in a racist society.
Academic outcomes plummeted. Charter networks whose students had long towered over their district counterparts now performed no better—and sometimes even worse.
But charter networks that maintained rigorous academics continue to produce extraordinary results. In New York City, 93 percent or more of students at 59 Success Academy charter schools and the four schools of Classical Charter Schools scored proficient on state English language arts tests and 96 percent scored proficient in math.
As the schools’ academic mission blurred, the political coalition that sustained charter expansion for decades frayed. Prominent leaders from both sides of the aisle, including Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama had been enthusiastic supporters. But when charter schools embraced social justice education, Republicans shifted their support toward private school choice options. Democrats, under pressure from radicalized teachers’ unions, also turned away. In many jurisdictions, expansion has stalled, with bans on new school openings and arbitrary caps on the number of schools statewide—despite charters’ popularity among parents.
To combat these changes, Wilson calls for renewing charter schools’ focus on accelerated learning and academic excellence.
Among Wilson’s recommendations are a five-year plan to restore academic excellence and expand opportunity for historically marginalized students, the development of a small number of high-capacity charter school authorizers with expertise in the sector, stronger teacher training coupled with efforts to confront the anti-knowledge culture of many education schools (which deters high-achievers from becoming teachers), and the continuation of state testing regimens in grades 3-8.
“Charter schools need clear measures of academic performance so high-performing schools can be replicated and failing schools closed,” Wilson said. “We need to open new charters that offer a reliable path out of poverty and dependency.”
