Charter Facts

Academic Research

Independent, peer-reviewed research from some of the nation’s leading institutions shows that Chicago’s charter public schools are having an outsized impact on student achievement and college readiness. Here’s a look at the studies you need to know:

 
Compared to the educational gains that charter students would have had in a traditional public school (TPS), the analysis shows on average that students in Illinois charter schools make larger learning gains in both reading and mathematics.
Read the Full Report
 
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.
Read the Full Report
 
Strong individualized support for college applicants influenced high school success as well as postsecondary prospects. From 2012 to 2016, [UIC College Prep’s] high school graduation rate rose from 75 percent to 85 percent and its college enrollment rate among graduates rose from 78 percent to 87 percent.”
Read the Full Report
 
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.”
Read the Full Report
 
Seven to nine years after the [charter] lottery, we find that lottery winners are 10.0 percentage points more likely to attend college and 9.5 percentage points more likely to enroll for at least four semesters.”
Read the Full Report
 
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.”
Read the Full Report
 
Attending a Noble charter public school produced stronger academic achievement for more students than enrolling in the selective enrollment school.
Read the Full Report
 
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.
Read the Full Report