Kentucky Tonight – Lots of Charter School Myths #3

– No myth – Actual Quote

“What is it about Charter Schools that allows them to achieve such strong results, and how can their effective practices be more widely disseminated?”

Mitchell D. Chester, Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education in his cover letter for a 2009 report on charter school performance. Chester was specifically commenting on this remarkable and recent report’s findings that charter schools in Boston notably outperformed the regular school system there.

By the way, this report used two separate analysis approaches and found generally similar results for charter schools from both.

The report was created by a partnership between The Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which makes it less likely to be biased.


– Myth (in fact, outrageous myth) we heard during the January 18, 2009 Kentucky Tonight show

“It’s a failed reform.”

Sheldon Berman, Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent

Note: During the Kentucky Tonight telecast, Dr. Berman cited his experience with charter schools in Massachusetts as a major part of the basis of his easy-to-refute claim.

As you can see, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education would likely be very surprised to hear anyone proclaim that charter schools are a failure based on what is really happening in his state’s schools.

Dr. Berman clearly hasn’t kept up with what is happening in Massachusetts, or with reports elsewhere. We’ll discuss that in another blog.