Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

In recent decades, many states and municipalities have grappled with how to address chronically failing schools. Some have opted for legislation allowing takeover and management of schools and districts (Welsh, 2018). In 2007, the Georgia Legislature passed the Georgia Charter Systems Act (CSA). The legislation provides flexibility to school districts and releases them from many state regulations. Districts apply for charter status, and, if approved, commit to a five-year contract with increased accountability requirements. A charter approach to governance and innovation in school districts is unique to Georgia. Given the focus of school governance models for education leaders and policymakers, I am interested in exploring if the charter system approach has a positive impact on student performance. The following question motivates my research: does flexibility in governance lead to better student achievement outcomes. Using a difference-in-differences (DD) model, I examine whether 3^rd-grade math scores in charter districts (CDs) are higher, or improving at a faster rate, than traditional districts (TDs). I use data available from the Georgia Department of Education that is aggregated at the school level for the 2015 to 2018 school years. There are 1235 schools in the final sample, with 966 schools in TDs and 269 in CDs. I compare the overall performance of schools located in CDs and those in TDs. My preliminary findings indicate that all elementary schools in Georgia have improved in 3rd grade math, but, in general, CDs have not improved in a significantly different way than schools in TDs. Due to policymakers' increased interest to explore governance strategies, such as flexibility and regulation, these findings shed light on the capacities of districts to manage themselves. Although CD improvement is not statistically different from TD, it is encouraging that I find no evidence of adverse effects. This study is limited by the use of aggregated data and the inability to determine specific strategies employed by CDs. Despite these limitations, this research explores an innovation in school reform that may provide education leaders with evidence that increased local control may be a suitable alternative to meet student academic needs in some districts.

References

Welsh, R. O. (2018). Recovery, Achievement, and Opportunity: A Comparative Analysis of State Takeover Districts in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia. Urban Education, 0042085918801884.