Public Schools: Insufficient Research to Determine Effectiveness of Selected Private Education Companies

摘要

In recent years, local school districts and traditional public schools have taken various initiatives to improve failing schools. For example, school districts and charter schools are increasingly contracting with private, forprofit companies to provide a range of education and management services to schools. To date, there has been debate regarding the effectiveness of such companies in managing public schools. These companies generally offer schools services in areas such as school organization, instruction, technology, and professional development. In the District of Columbia, some public schools currently contract with three such companies: Edison Schools, Mosaica Education, and Chancellor Beacon Academies. As agreed with your office, we (1) identified the characteristics of their programs and determined the extent to which District schools managed by them have used their programs and (2) determined what is known about the effectiveness of these companies educational programs, as measured primarily by student achievement.