Charters vs. public schools: Behind the numbers

May 24, 2010

The Washington Post

OTHER NEWS MEDIA REFERENCES ON CHARTER SCHOOLS

Charters vs. public schools: Behind the numbers

By Valerie Strauss

Charter school advocates often like to say that many of these schools do a better job than nearby public schools with the same population of students.

That, in fact, is what writer Steven Brill says about two schools--one public charter and the other part of the New York City School system--in an article in today's New York Times magazine entitled “The Teachers’ Unions’ Last Stand.”

The article is long, and says a number of things with which I could argue but won’t here. What I will do, though, is point out the very real differences between two school populations that Brill says are the same.

This is important, because, as we all know, it isn’t fair to compare apples and oranges and pretend the comparison is between two pieces of the same fruit.

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