Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Since their legal inception in Minnesota in 1991, charter schools have occupied a steadily increasing share in the US public education system. In the 2014-2015 academic year, charter schools made up seven percent of all public schools, enrolling around 2.7 million students (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). The high degree of autonomy afforded to charter schools provides them with the flexibility to structure their curriculum and school environment as deemed appropriate to encourage student learning. Proponents of charter school argue this flexibility stimulates innovation in the educational system through competition and the diversification of educational programs. Charter schools are also believed to provide a better alternative to low-performing traditional public schools, and to improve learning outcomes for students unable to flourish within the traditional public-school setting.

The growth in the number of charter schools in the United States and their promotion as alternatives to the traditional public-school system necessitates an understanding of the impact these schools have on student outcomes and society. Numerous studies have examined the effect of charter schools on tests scores. There is also limited, but growing research on the impact of charter schools have on educational attainment. No study to date, however, has examined the spillover effects of charter schools on educational attainment.

In this study, I utilize a change in charter school legislation, which removed the cap on the number of charter schools that can operate in North Carolina. Initially, charter school legislation in North Carolina permitted up to one-hundred charters schools to be in operation. The removal of the cap led to an increase in the number of charter schools operating in the state. Leveraging this policy change, I employ a difference-in-differences approach using administrative data to identify the impact of charter school expansion on ACT and SAT scores, graduation rate, and college intention at the district and individual levels. I identify school districts that experienced an increase in the number of charter highs schools after the policy change and compare the average outcomes of their students to those in non-expansion districts. I also compare the outcomes of students before and after the policy change in public schools that are within a five-mile radius of new charter high schools after the policy change.

Initial results show that charter school expansion had no statistically significant effect on district average ACT scores and or the proportion of students that intend to go to college. This study contributes to the literatures examining the spillover effects of charter schools, and of charter school impacts on educational attainment. Further, in the present policy climate where there is growing support for charter schools, this study provides evidence on whether expanding charter school sectors has a positive impact on students or the districts within which they operate.