June 26, 2025
Quality education begins with strong systems, clear goals, and the ability to adapt when challenges arise. In the charter school system, where schools operate with greater autonomy and flexibility, it is especially important to ensure that systems of support and accountability are both effective and responsive. Across the country, authorizers and school leaders are leveraging new tools and strategies to improve performance, strengthen evaluations, and build on existing resources to drive lasting improvement.
In the following post, we spotlight three key resources that help charter schools and authorizers uphold high standards and support continuous improvement across their networks.
Maximizing Existing Strengths Through Asset Mapping
Charter school authorizers often face complex challenges, but they don’t always need to start from scratch when looking for solutions. Mapping Assets for Charter Schools: A Guide for Charter Authorizers is a practical guide designed to help authorizers identify and leverage underutilized resources within their existing networks.
Through three collaborative learning modules, the guide supports teams in prioritizing key issues, identifying available assets, and working together to apply asset mapping in a meaningful way. This process helps authorizers proactively address challenges before they escalate, improving outcomes for schools and the students they serve.
Explore how asset mapping can support early intervention and stronger outcomes in charter schools.
Designing Effective Accountability Systems
Accountability frameworks play a critical role in determining how charter schools are evaluated and supported. Recognizing this, the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA) took a bold step to revamp its academic, financial, and organizational performance frameworks—not just to meet compliance standards but also to create lasting change for more than 80 charter campuses statewide.
With support from the federal Charter Schools Program and Opportunity 180, the SPCSA partnered with WestEd to redesign its performance frameworks to better reflect the real needs of students and schools. The result is a fairer, more transparent system that allows schools to be evaluated in a way that supports improvement and success.
Read about how Nevada’s accountability redesign is helping charter schools thrive.
Using Evaluations to Drive Improvement in Magnet Programs
High-quality evaluations are essential for ensuring that specialized programs, like magnet schools, are using evaluations to drive results. WestEd’s Magnet School Evaluation Guide offers leaders a clear roadmap for conducting effective evaluations that lead to real improvements.
The guide outlines each step of the evaluation process from setting up a solid foundation to applying findings for program enhancement. It offers practical strategies for both federally funded and independently supported magnet programs, helping leaders assess their current plans and apply lessons learned in meaningful ways.
See how robust evaluation practices can help magnet programs strengthen their impact.
Partnering With Charter Schools for Lasting Improvement
At WestEd, our Charters and School Choice team works nationally to enhance the quality and impact of school choice options, including charter and magnet schools. Through partnerships with authorizers, education agencies, and support organizations, we help strengthen systems, promote sustainability, and improve student outcomes.
Learn more about how we support charter and school choice programs.
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