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September 11, 2018 |
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Contacts Review: Time to Change Course: Reclaiming the Potential of Texas Charter SchoolsEAST LANSING, Mich. (September 11, 2018) —A recent report from ExcelinEd and Texas Public Policy Foundation examines the charter-school authorizing process in Texas and contends that a 2013 legislative policy change made the authorization process too restrictive, thus reducing the number of applicants and stifling innovation. Professor Edward J. Fuller of Penn State University reviewed Time to Change Course: Reclaiming the Potential of Texas Charter Schools and found that its findings and conclusions are not supported by research or other compelling evidence and thus do not provide useful guidance for policymakers. The report is part of Think Twice Review, a project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. Fuller's key finding is that although the report is billed as a case study, it fails to supply solid evidence. The report's lack of research and analysis results in an unsupported advocacy paper instead. After surveying current and past Texas authorizing policies, the report claims Texas had formerly been a leader in creating high-performing charter schools. It further claims that Texas' past low barriers for entry into the market (i.e., ease of having an application approved by an authorizer) was a contributing factor to this success. The report then provides recommendations for creating an easier authorization process. While the report contends it is a case study, Professor Fuller notes that it does not employ case study methodology. Moreover, the report fails to review or cite relevant research; it instead relies on unsubstantiated claims, anecdotes, misleading statements, and even demonstrably false statements to promote the development of more charter schools in Texas. In short, Fuller concludes, this report is an advocacy paper masquerading as a case study. Policymakers would be well advised to skip the report and look for evidence-based reviews of the Texas charter authorizing process. Find the Think Twice Review by Fuller on the web: Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), provides the public, policymakers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. Find Time to Change Course: Reclaiming the Potential of Texas Charter Schools, written by Adam Jones and Amanda List and published by ExcelinEd and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, at You can also find the review by Edward Fuller on the NEPC website: - ### - |
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