Education Charter Schools

Running Head : PROS AND CONS OF CHARTER SCHOOLS

The Pros and Cons of Charter Schools

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The Pros and Cons of Charter Schools

There is a new kind of school in America that is steadily increasing in number ever since its first establishment in 1992 - charter schools These schools are described as the `new and improved ' public schools that have curriculums especially designed to meet the needs of the students . For example , there are charter schools for students that are challenged in the

academic and behavioral area or for students especially bent towards the arts (Rosenthal , 2006 . Charter schools can implement such curriculums because they are essentially free from most of the bureaucracy that are limiting regular public schools from being as innovative . In addition , for charter schools to stay operational they are required to meet the academic standards set in their charter ( Charter schools FAQs ' n .d

It 's been 15 years since the establishment of the first charter school yet , despite this and the obvious increase in number of such schools all over the states , its effectiveness is still an issue . People are still arguing if it is indeed better than regular public high schools . In addition , the mixed results of studies made on charter schools do not help (Rosenthal , 2006 . Thus , most people are still divided , and will probably stay that way , since charter schools do have its advantages and disadvantages . This will list and briefly discuss some of the statements of the proponents and opponents of charter schools

The proponents of charter schools state that one , charter schools are generally small and thus this means that the students ' performances can be more monitored by their teacher . There are many studies that confirm that class size can affect the quality of academic performance of students . Since the students are only few , the teachers can concentrate and help them even more in areas they have difficulties in . Second charter schools may provide the competition and challenge that might propel public schools to improve their performance ( Charter schools 2007 . For example , a public elementary school in Michigan started decreasing its class size and offering subjects that parents had suggested earlier after a charter school in the same area started getting a number of its students . Also , a public school in Connecticut started contacting students ' parents and asking for feedbacks and suggestions on the improvement of the school (Coeyman , 2003 . Third since charter schools are not restricted by too many laws , the teachers can be more flexible in their curriculum and teaching styles and strategies . These teachers have more freedom to apply techniques that would produce better learning in students

On the other hand , the opponents of charter schools state that first the state does not have enough finances to constantly monitor all charter schools and their performance . After all , there are still charter schools that are handled by people who do not know what they are doing . Some also perform rather poorly , whether...