WestEd Research

From Paper to Practice: Challenges Facing a California Charter School, by Ron Corwin, Lisa Carlos, Bart Lagomarsino, and Roger Scott (1996)
This report presents the findings, conclusions, and recommendations from a six-month case study of a San Diego charter school.

Freedom and Innovation in California's Charter Schools, by Ronald G. Corwin and John F. Flaherty (1996)
This report presents the results of a 1996 survey of 53 California charter schools operating in Winter 1995. 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.

Selected Abstracts of Charter School Publications (1996)
Compiled by the WestEd Policy Program, this Web document contains abstracts of 10 charter school publications.

More on Charter Schools, by Lisa Carlos and Kyo Yamashiro (1995)
This Policy Brief presents the arguments for and against charter schools, as well as providing a summary of the issues surrounding charter schools and the implications of recent research about the future of this movement.

Charter Schools, by Mary Amsler and Lori Mulholland (1992)
This Policy Brief explores the charter schools concept.

Other Helpful Research

The Charter School Roadmap (September 1998)
This U.S. Department of Education publication aims to guide policymakers through issues that need to be examined when developing or assessing charter schools legislation.

Charter Schools: Federal Funding Available but Barriers Exist (1998)
A report to Congressional Requesters by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO). Using state and national level research, the GAO reports on issues around charter schools' ability to access federal funds. In brief, GAO found that most charter school operators believe that Title I and IDEA funds are fairly allocated, but that there are some barriers to obtaining funds.

A Study of Charter Schools: First-Year Report (May 1997), A National Study of Charter Schools: Second-Year Report (May 1998), and The State of Charter Schools: Third-Year Report (May 1999) by RPP International
A definitive, long-term study of charter schools across the nation whose goal is to analyze the impact of charter schools on student achievement and on local and state public education systems.

Charter Schools in Action Project Final Report, 1997, by the Hudson Institute
This report is broken down into six major parts: 1) Charter Schools As Seen by Those Who Know Them Best: Students, Teachers, and Parents; 2) The Birth-Pains and Life-Cycles of Charter Schools; 3) The Policy Perils of Charter Schools; 4) Charter School Accountability: Problems and Prospects; 5) The Educational Impact of Charter Schools; and 6) How Charter Schools Are Different: Lessons and Implications.