Academic Research

Charter high school students were “more likely to say they were engaged in challenging tasks that required critical thinking” and “had better attendance and better test scores” as compared to non-charter students.

Attending a Noble high school increased college enrollment by 13 percentage points, with most of the increase coming at four year, relatively selective institutions. Persistence in college also increased, with a 12 percentage point increase in attending four or more semesters of higher education.”

Compared to students who graduated from other public high schools, charter school graduates were 20 percent likelier to enroll in college. Seventy-three percent of charter school graduates enrolled in college, leading the district-run school average of 61 percent by 12 points. Half of Chicago’s top 20 public high schools for college enrollment were charter schools.”

In new research published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers found that Noble high schools boost achievement sharply for students just below the cutoff for selective enrollment schools. Similar peers who ultimately attended selective enrollment schools experienced less academic growth.