Charter law and charter operation: Re-examining the charter school marketplace

Charter school laws are often characterized as either enabling or constraining the creation and operation of charter schools. In making these characterizations, researchers have primarily compared variation across, rather than within, states. This chapter provides a new outlook on the charter school policy environment, however, by examining more closely the layers of legal provisions in states’ charter laws. Hierarchical modeling might be appropriate, especially where additional legal layers are in play. A multilevel analysis would recognize the complex interactions among state, local, and charter school administration. From a policy perspective, the most pressing questions for charter schools are whether the reform can be scaled up, and whether the charter movement is sustainable, moving from its experimental beginnings to a more mature, stable system. The most important question is how to connect the charter law provisions to student academic outcomes. Cross-state achievement comparisons are notoriously difficult since states employ different achievement tests.