Overview

Access issues are pivotal to almost all charter school tensions and debates. How well are these schools performing? Are they segregating and stratifying? Are they public and democratic? Are they fairly funded? Can apparent successes be scaled up? Answers to all these core questions hinge on how access to charter schools is shaped. This book describes the incentives and pressures on charter schools to restrict access and examines how charters navigate those pressures, explaining access-restricting practices in relation to the ecosystem within which charter schools are created. It also explains how charters have sometimes responded by resisting the pressures and sometimes by surrendering to them. The text presents analyses of 13 different types of practices around access, each of which shapes the school's enrollment. The authors conclude by offering recommendations for how states and authorizers can address access-related inequities that arise in the charter sector. School's Choice provides timely information on critical academic and policy issues that will come into play as charter school policy continues to evolve.Book Features: Examines how charter schools control who gains and retains access. Explores policies and practices that undermine equitable admission and encourage opportunity hoarding. Offers a set of policy recommendations at the state and federal level to address access-related issues.

Full Product Details

Author:   Wagma Mommandi ,  Kevin Welner
Publisher:   Teachers' College Press
Imprint:   Teachers' College Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.461kg
ISBN:  

9780807765821

ISBN 10:   0807765821
Pages:   232
Publication Date:   10 September 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Contents 1.  Introduction 1 The Issue of Access 3 A Framework for Understanding Access 5 Methods 8 Conclusion 12 2.  The Centrality of Access 14 Publicness 14 Funding and Finance 16 Segregation and Stratification 17 Measured Outcomes 17 3.  Description and Design: Which Niche? 20 Background Briefing 20 Further Research 21 Conclusion 29 4.  Location, Location, Location: Decisions About Site and Transportation 30 Background Briefing 30 Further Research 31 Conclusion 36 5.  Narrow-Casting: The Power of Marketing and Advertising 37 Background Briefing 37 Further Research 39 Conclusion 44 6.  Hoop Schemes: Conditions Placed on Applications 45 Background Briefing 45 Further Research 47 Conclusion 55 7.  The Steering Wheel: The Art of Dissuading Applications 56 Background Briefing 56 Further Research 58 Conclusion 61 8.  Send Us Your Best: Conditions Placed on Enrollment 63 Background Briefing 63 Further Research 64 Conclusion 71 9.  Putting in the Hours: Requiring Parents to Volunteer 72 Background Briefing 72 Further Research 74 Conclusion 77 10.  Not in Service: Emergent Bilinguals, Special Education, and Free and Reduced-Price Lunch 78 Background Briefing 78 Further Research 80 Conclusion 88 11.  The Fitness Test: Counseling Out 89 Background Briefing 89 Further Research 91 Conclusion 98 12.  Pass Interference: GPAs and Grade Retention 99 Background Briefing 99 Further Research 100 Conclusion 105 13.  No Excuses: Discipline and Punish 106 Background Briefing 106 Further Research 107 Conclusion 120 14.  Irreplaceable: Backfilling Student Attrition 122 Background Briefing 123 Further Research 123 Conclusion 127 15.  Show Me the Money: The Price of Attendance 129 Background Briefing 129 Further Research 130 Conclusion 137 16.  Understanding Access 138 Competitive Incentives for Schools to Be Choosers 138 Opportunity Hoarding: Parents as Choosers 141 Effectively Maintained Inequality 144 17.  Pursuing Equity Against the Tide 148 Attempts to Address Access Hurdles 148 The Rules and Incentives Must Change 155 18.  Looking Ahead: Designing a Healthier System 158 Changing Incentives 159 Changing Rules 160 The Importance of Collecting and Reporting Data 169 Holding Authorizers Accountable 170 Conclusion 171 Notes 173 References 175 Index 213 About the Authors 225

Reviews

“This compact but thorough book makes it clear that for many students, a charter school system provides no choice at all. It is the charter school that does the choosing, not the students or parents.” —Forbes

This compact but thorough book makes it clear that for many students, a charter school system provides no choice at all. It is the charter school that does the choosing, not the students or parents. --Forbes

Author Information

Wagma Mommandi, a former public-school teacher, is a PhD candidate in education policy at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education. Kevin Welner is a professor and the director of the National Education Policy Center, which is housed at the CU Boulder School of Education.

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