Do families in highly-rated school districts, such as Austin, Houston, and Dallas, need public charter schools?  You already know the answer from your personal experience. But this is a question some state lawmakers have been asking -- so we decided to look at the data. 

Our new report, Texas’ Hidden Achievement Gaps, examines academic outcomes at 4,500 ISD schools that received an “A” or a “B” on the state’s School Report Card. You can click here to read the full report. 

Some of the findings are disappointing. Even at these “top” schools, White students meet grade-level standards at a rate 24 percentage points higher than Black students and 10 points higher than Hispanic students.  

But we also found some very encouraging news: Public charter schools are dramatically narrowing, and in some cases completely reversing, these decades-old achievement gaps. 

In Writing, for example, White students at top-rated ISD schools meet grade-level standards at a rate 25 points higher than Black students. At charters, the difference is 3 points.  

In Science, the gap between White and Hispanic students is 8.5 points. But at charters, it’s flipped on its head: Hispanic students actually outperform their White peers by about 5 points.

There are many reasons for this incredible success, including: 

Better access to teachers of color
Lower suspension rates
Smaller school environments
Cultures of college-going and high achievement 

Thanks to the incredible educators at public charter schools in Texas, more students are meeting their full potential and are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. 

We hope you’ll take a moment to celebrate this terrific success with us and share this report: Click here to share on Facebook and here to share on Twitter. 

Warmly, 
Starlee Coleman