Are the charter schools a success due to better kids? Or better teaching?

HOUSTON CHRONICLE
June 27, 2010, 10:43PM

Can the U.S. do a much better job of educating its low-income and minority children? The KIPP charter-school system, spawned in Houston, has long been proof that it's possible — and a new study confirms that happy thought.

KIPP's stats are astounding: Its 82 schools, spread across the country, serve roughly 21,000 kids. Eighty percent are from low-income families. More than 90 percent are either Hispanic or African-American. And more than 85 percent of KIPP grads enroll in college. (In Houston, it's closer to 90 percent.)

How do they do that? Among other things, KIPP insists on high-quality teachers; measurable results; a high-achieving school culture; more school hours each day, and more school days each year. Among the school's mantras: "No excuses."

Still, not everyone is a fan. Detractors often argue that KIPP's success lies not in the way its schools teach, but in the way they select their kids. KIPP, they grumble, starts with the most dedicated students, then jettisons stragglers who can't keep up. Since public schools don't have that luxury, we can't expect them to reach similar heights.

But a new study by Mathematica, a nonprofit research group based in Princeton, N.J., has demolished that argument. Researchers examined 22 KIPP schools across the country (including two in Houston). The team concluded that students arrive at KIPP middle schools academically behind their peers in public schools; and that KIPP loses students at rates similar to the public schools those kids left.

In other words: KIPP doesn't snag better kids; it runs better schools.

Can the study be trusted? It was funded by the KIPP Foundation, but even so, its rigor impresses former critics. Among them is Jeffrey Henig, a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College who'd criticized the methodology of previous KIPP studies, and warned policymakers to proceed with caution when adopting the chain's techniques. But contacted by Chronicle reporter Jennifer Radcliffe, he deemed this study "well-crafted."

The lesson, we think, is clear. If KIPP can do it, other schools can, too - and we should demand that. No excuses.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7083660.html

Emphasis added by H4K Editor