Gov. Paul LePage, in his zeal to promote charter schools as an alternative to the public schools, would be wise to avail himself of some of the research being done by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University.
The center tracks student performance in 25 states. Its large-scale study done in 2009 showed that only 17 percent of charter schools provided a better education than traditional schools, and 37 percent actually offered children a worse education.
A study released this year by the center reveals that the standards used to judge school performance in charter schools are very weak.
There are charter schools that have outstanding records of student achievement, just as there are public schools that are exceptional. Why aren’t we having a conversation about what works in education rather than promoting one solution: charter schools?
This is yet one more example of “coming to the table” with an answer rather than the question, “what works?”.
If the governor cares as much about students as he claims, he needs to do his homework.
Maryann Larson, New Gloucester
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