Introduction

School Autonomy

• Do Charter Schools Have Freedom?
  
• What Are the Differences Between Those Charter Schools That Have a High Degree of Automony and Those With Less Autonomy?
  
• Were Districts or Unions Reluctant To Relinquish Control?
  
• How Do Charter School Administrators Compare Their School With Other Schools?

Teacher Characteristics

• What Preparation Do Charter School Teachers Have?
  
• What Roles Do Charter School Teachers Perform?
  
• Are Teachers Satisfied With Their Jobs?
  
• What Are Teachers Doing Differently?
  
• How Do Teachers Perceive Their Students?

Innovation

• What Educational and Organizational Approaches Do Charter School
• Administrators Say Are Most Distinctive About Their Schools?
  
• Are Charter Schools Innovative?
  
• How Essential Is Charter School Status?
  
• Among Charter Schools, Is Their Relative Degree of Autonomy Related to Innovation?

Parent Involvement

• How Many Parents Participate in Charter School Activities?
  
• What Do Charter Schools Do to Encourage Parent Participation?
  
• Are Charter School Parents Active Voters, and Are They Assuming Leadership Positions?
  
• Are Parents Influencing Charter Schools?

Students Served

• Are Charter Schools Serving At-Risk Students?
  
• Are the Parents Who Are Highly Involved in Their Children's Education More Likely To Select a Charter School Than a Comparison School?
  
• Are Some Students Being Excluded by "Parent Contracts"?

Appendices

Ronald J. Corwin is director of the Metropolitan Educational Trends and Research Outcomes (METRO) Center, Southwest Regional Laboratory. His PhD in sociology is from the University of Minnesota.

John F. Flaherty is a research associate for the METRO Center, Southwest Regional Laboratory. His MA in applied sociology is from the University of Massachusetts.

Henry J. Becker is an associate professor of education, University of California, Irvine. His PhD in sociology is from The Johns Hopkins University.

Marcella R. Dianda served as a senior researcher for the METRO Center, Southwest Regional Laboratory. She currently is a senior policy analyst and program consultant at the National Education Association. Her EdD in curriculum and evaluation is from the University of Minnesota.

Kathryn Nakagawa is an assistant professor of education, University of California, Irvine. Her PhD in human development and social policy is from Northwestern University.

This report presents the results of a survey, conducted by the Southwest Regional Laboratory, based on:

• 53 of the 67 charter schools operating in California, winter 1995;
• 46 comparison schools in California that were identified by charter school administrators as the schools their students would have attended if they had not enrolled in a charter;
• 230 teachers working in California charter schools; and
• 63 charter schools located in 7 states outside California.

The report covers the kinds of decisions controlled by charter schools and other distinctive features of the schools, including characteristics of teachers who teach in them, innovations being implemented, forms of parent involvement, and the students served.

One part of the report focuses on patterns of autonomy granted to charter schools.

Do Charter Schools Have Freedom?

1. Most administrators believe they have a considerable amount of autonomy from their districts.
2. Higher percentages of charters control key decisions than the comparison schools (see Appendix A), especially:
   • instructional approaches and courses offered;
   • hiring the principal, teachers, and noncertified adults;
   • budgets;
   • custodial and maintenance services; and
   • student admissions, suspensions and expulsions, and setting enrollment caps.
3. However, many districts with charter schools continue to control some key decisions, especially:
   • custodial and maintenance services; and
   • student suspensions and expulsions.
4. 4. Also, a few districts select the principal, teachers, and students.

What Are the Differences Between Those Charter Schools That Have a High Degree
Of Autonomy and Those With Less Autonomy?

1. Charter schools with higher levels of autonomy more often report (see
   Appendix B):
   • more freedom;
   • fewer purchasing restrictions;
   • more money for instruction and the ability to spend it more wisely;
   • more cooperative relationships with the district;
   • less cooperative relationships with the local union;
   • using parent contracts and insisting on parent participation; and
   • serving more at-risk students.

Were Districts or Unions Reluctant To Relinquish Control?

1. Few districts refused, although few fully cooperated, and some resisted.
2. Generally, charter schools have cooperative relationships with their districts.
3. Most charter schools still do not have cooperative relationships with local unions.

How Do Charter School Administrators Compare Their School With Other Schools?

1. They believe that charter schools:
   • have more money than other schools and are spending it more wisely;
   • have fewer restrictions on purchases;
   • are less constrained by union contracts;
   • use more noncertified teachers; and
   • are not getting enough support from the district.
2. They believe charter school teachers:
   • have more influence and authority than teachers in other schools;
   • work more closely with their colleagues; and
   • work longer hours.
3. They report that their teachers offer more subjects and provide more:
   • experimental, thematic, and individualized forms of instruction;
   • multi-age and cooperative group learning experiences; and
   • community learning experiences.
4. Responses of charter school administrators are, in most respects, substantially different from those given by the administrators of comparison schools.

Because teachers in charter schools are self-selected, part of the study was aimed at finding out who those teachers are.

What Preparation Do Charter School Teachers Have?

1. Charter schools that have converted to charter status have more teachers with:
   • higher degrees; and
   • more years of experience.
2. Charters with low autonomy have more teachers with:
   • higher degrees;
   • more years of experience; and
   • previous experience in the charter school.
3. New charter schools have more teachers who have:
   • previously taught in other districts;
   • previously taught in private schools; and
   • not previously taught in any school.
4. Charter schools with high autonomy have more teachers:
   • from other districts; and
   • who previously taught in private schools.
5. Secondary-level teachers have less experience than those who teach at the elementary level.

What Roles Do Charter School Teachers Perform?

1. Compared to their counterparts in other types of schools, teachers in new schools, in high-autonomy schools, and those teaching at the elementary level consistently report:
   • having more influence;
   • being less constrained by rules; and
   • having heavier workloads.
2. High percentages of teachers in all types of charter schools report heavy paperwork burdens.
3. A high percentage of teachers say they experiment more in the classroom, are freer to teach as they wish, and have more say over content and the subjects they teach.

Are Teachers Satisfied With Their Jobs?

1. Teachers in new charters are the least secure about their jobs and the future, but they are among the most satisfied with their jobs.
2. With few exceptions, most teachers share a common mission, maintain high standards, and consider themselves to be learners.
3. Most teachers understand the schools' goals, but goals appear to be less clear in new schools and in secondary schools.

What Are Teachers Doing Differently?

1. Teachers in new schools, elementary schools, and high-autonomy schools have changed their teaching practices more than teachers in converted schools, high schools, and low-autonomy schools.
2. The most prevalent change is requiring students to build portfolios of their best work.
3. Nearly half the teachers more frequently:
   • employ "key instructional" practices directly related to organizing students for instruction, including cross-age tutoring, small student groups, and student projects; and
   • reorganize the way in which they deliver instruction.
4. Less frequent changes involve outreach to the community.

How Do Teachers Perceive Their Students?

1. Overwhelmingly, teachers perceive the academic ability of their students as comparable to students they have taught previously.
2. Most teachers do not think their students enjoy the charter school more than they enjoyed their previous school.

Much of the report concerns the distinctive approaches charter schools are taking and the innovations they are implementing.

What Educational and Organizational Approaches Do Charter School Administrators Say Are Most Distinctive About Their Schools?

1. Over one third of charter school administrators stress the following distinctive features of their schools (see Appendix C):
   • parent involvement;
   • participation of teachers and parents in governance; and
   • cross-age teaching approaches.
2. Over 20% of charter school administrators also stress the following distinctive features:
   • alternative assessments;
   • instruction by parents and other adults; and
   • individualized student learning.
3. The distinctive features listed above were mentioned more frequently by charter school administrators than they were mentioned by administrators of comparison schools.

Are Charter Schools Innovative?

1. Charters are introducing a variety of innovations more frequently than the comparison schools, especially (see Appendix D):
   • parent involvement;
   • cross-age teaching;
   • using parents as instructors; and
   • alternative assessments.
2. Most charter school administrators cite the following types of innovations far more frequently than do administrators of comparison schools:
   • using technology and individualized projects;
   • including parents in school governance and site-based management;
   • promoting several forms of parent participation, including using them as classroom instructors;
   • using alternative or performance-based assessments;
   • providing students with opportunities to provide community service, and forming community partnerships;
   • multi-age grouping and mainstreaming;
   • changing daily, weekly, or annual schedules, including after-school learning activities;
   • targeting at-risk youth, especially bilingual students;
   • increasing professional development opportunities for teachers;
   • reducing class size; and
   • using noncertified staff.
3. Over 45% of the teachers say they are teaching differently, in particular:
   • using portfolios and student projects;
   • working with other teachers;
   • taking interdisciplinary approaches;
   • using small groups for problem solving;
   • using computers for students to practice skills; and
   • designing lessons that make use of multiple learning styles.

How Essential Is Charter School Status?

1. The majority of charter school administrators say that charter status is either essential or valuable for most of the innovations their schools are implementing (see Appendix E).
2. All charter school administrators agree that a charter is essential for their staffing innovations.
3. About half or more of the charter school administrators agree charter status is essential for:
   • fiscal innovations;
   • class size reductions;
   • scheduling changes;
   • parent involvement approaches;
   • counseling programs;
   • changes in governance; and
   • organizational changes.
4. Between one fourth and one third of the charter school administrators say charter status is not needed for:
   • changing course structure;
   • targeting special catagories of students;
   • team teaching; and
   • counseling programs.
5. Most teachers also say that charter status is essential or valuable for nearly all of the specific innovations they are implementing (see Appendix F).
6. However, less than one half of the teachers say charter status is essential for any of the things they are doing.
7. Just over one third of the teachers say that charter status is essential for:
   • giving detailed feedback to students;
   • taking field trips;
   • coordinating lessons with other teachers;
   • giving individualized assignments; and
   • designing lessons that address multiple learning styles.

Among Charter Schools, Is Their Relative Degree of Autonomy Related to Innovation?

1. Charters that control many of the key decisions are implementing the following innovations more frequently than those that control fewer key decisions:
   • parent involvement;
   • scheduling;
   • class size reductions; and
   • community service.

Many charter schools are encouraging parents to participate in their children's schools. Part of the study was designed to learn more about that dimension in charter schools.

How Many Parents Participate in Charter School Activities?

1. Charter schools have relatively high rates of parent involvement.
2. The absolute percentage of parents involved in charter schools is relatively low; however, it is possible that different individuals participate in each type of activity.

What Do Charter Schools Do To Encourage Parent Participation?

1. Charter school teachers provide more suggestions to parents and tend to use other selected practices for reaching parents more often than teachers in comparison schools.

Are Charter School Parents Active Voters, and Are They Assuming Leadership Positions?

1. Charter schools have relatively high parent-voter turnouts.
2. However, the majority of charter school parents do not vote.
3. A substantial percentage of parents in charter schools have held leadership positions.

Are Parents Influencing Charter Schools?

1. In most charter schools, parents have raised controversial issues.
2. In most charter schools, parents have been responsible for changes in policies or practices.
3. Charter school parents are more likely to advocate nontraditional rather than traditional approaches.

Given the potential advantages of charter schools, part of the study was devoted to identifying the kinds of students who have access to those advantages.

Are Charter Schools Serving At-Risk Students?

1. On the one hand, measured against the comparison schools, charter schools enroll (see Appendix G):
   • fewer low-income students;
   • more students from privileged families; and
   • fewer below-average students.
2. Also, certain types of charter schools (e.g., home schools) are less accessible than others to underserved, at-risk children.
3. On the other hand, measured against the comparison schools, they enroll:
   • comparable percentages of minorities;
   • more students who have been retained in grade; and
   • more former school dropouts.

We conclude that while some types of at-risk students tend to be underrepresented, the data do not substantiate sensational claims that charter schools are either creaming the most able, privileged students, or skimming out those who traditionally have been underserved.

Are the Parents Who Are Highly Involved in Their Children's Education More Likely To Select a Charter School Than a Comparison School?

1. By a margin of nearly 2 to 1, charter schools enroll more students whose parents always read to their children.
2. By narrow margins, they enroll more students whose parents are likely to help their children, would volunteer, and would attend PTA meetings.

Are Some Students Being Excluded by "Parent Contracts"?

1. Most charter schools (but few comparison schools) are using parent contracts that require parents to participate in ways specified by the school.
2. In a large percentage of schools using parent contracts, the ability and willingness of parents to fulfill the requirements of contracts are being used as conditions for admitting (and possibly expelling) students (see Appendix H).
3. Some parents who do not meet the charter school's participation requirements voluntarily choose (see Appendix I):
   • not to apply; or
   • to withdraw their child.
4. Many contracts include a "failure-to-comply" clause, which permits the school to take action against defaulting parents. These clauses are being used disproportionately by charter schools enrolling high percentages of:
   • below-average students;
   • students classified as limited English proficient (LEP); and
   • students from nonprofessional families.
5. Parent contracts may prove to be an effective way to promote some types of parent involvement, but as currently written, many of the contracts:
   • are unilateral; and
   • violate the precept that families and schools should relate as partnerships, which allow families to choose how they will participate.
     
     
     

Appendix A
Percentage of Schools That Fully Control Program Areas

* p<.05 ** p<.01

Appendix B
Differences in Percentage of Charter Schools With High and Low Levels of Autonomy

Appendix C
The Most Distinctive Features Identified by the Administrators of Charter Schools And of Comparison Schools

Appendix D
Percentage of Charter Schools Versus Comparison Schools Implementing Each Type of Innovation

Appendix E
Importance of Charter Status in Achieving Innovations

Appendix F
How Essential or Valuable Is the Charter Structure for Changed Teaching Practices?

Appendix G
Types of Students Served at Charter and Comparison Schools

Percentage of Students From Racial or Ethnic Minorities:
Charter Schools Versus Comparison Schools

Percentage of Students Qualifying for Free/Reduced Meals:
Charter Schools Versus Comparison Schools

* p<.05 (a) p<.10

Percentage of Students Residing With Professional Families:
Charter Schools Versus Comparison Schools

(a) p<.10

Percentage of Students One or More Years Below National Norms:
Charter Schools Versus Comparison Schools

* p<.05

Appendix H
Importance of Selected Factors in Admitting Students to Charter Schools

Appendix I

Charter school administrators were asked about the relation between student admission and withdrawal, and parent involvement. Specifically, they were asked how often any of the following events had happened since their school began enrolling students:

• a family being informally advised not to apply because the school felt that problems would inevitably arise over parent-involvement expectations;
• a family not completing admissions because the family did not agree with the school's expectations for parent involvement;
• a parent voluntarily taking his or her child from the school because he or she did not want to fulfill expected commitments of parent involvement; and
• a student being asked to transfer out because the parent was not willing to commit him or herself to the level of involvement expected.

Twenty of the 23 charter schools with parent contracts also returned a completed administrator survey. About one half (9) acknowledged that one or more of these events had occurred at least once, and usually not more than twice. Only one school said that any of these occurred more than five times. Voluntary parent withdrawal was the most common occurrence; expulsion occurred least often (once each in two schools with contracts).