Busting a Few Myths about Charter Schools
Texas is home to a diverse array of K-12 educational options. Some of the nation’s most well-known
charter schools originated in Texas and illustrate the results that are possible when charter schools get it
right.
However, the charter school landscape in Texas is not an unalloyed success story. When it comes to
performance, charter schools tend to cluster at the top and the bottom of the spectrum. Many Texas
charter schools have abysmal records when it comes to graduation rates and standardized test scores.
Charter schools were created to provide parents and students with an additional academic option
outside traditional public schools. In exchange for freedom from some state rules governing traditional
public schools, charter schools are expected to experiment with innovative education strategies, with
the aim of passing along the most successful approaches to traditional schools.
Texas Charter Schools - Overview
Across the state, over 100,000 Texan children (2% of all public school students in Texas) are enrolled at
more than 300 charter campuses1 (see Table 1).
Charter Schools
Traditional Schools
Table 1: Total Enrollment
Campus Count
308
7,767
Total Enrollment
103,725
4,755,681
Texas charter schools do not shy away from taking on challenging and high-need student populations;
they serve large populations of low-income and minority students. A solid majority of charter school
students (68%) are economically disadvantaged, compared with 59% of their traditional public school
peers. Charter and traditional schools serve similar proportions of at-risk (41% and 46%, respectively)
and limited English proficient (LEP) (both at 17%) students. Traditional schools do serve a larger
proportion of special education students (9%) than do charter schools (5%).
Charter Schools
Traditional Schools
Table 2: Student Characteristics
% Economically
% Limited English
% At-Risk
Disadvantaged
Proficient
41%
68%
17%
46%
59%
17%
% Special
Education
5%
9%
Charter schools mirror the diversity of our state. Fifty-three percent of charter school students are
Latino, 25% are Black, and 16% are White. Traditional public schools house a roughly equal proportion of
Latino students (50%), but they serve a lower proportion of Black (13%) and a higher proportion of
White students (32%).
1
Here and through the rest of the report, all alternative campuses, whether charter or traditional, are excluded
from the analysis.
Charter Schools
Traditional Schools
Table 3: Demographics
% Black
% Latino
25%
53%
13%
50%
% White
16%
32%
Texas Charter Schools in CHILDREN AT RISK’s School Rankings
However, when it comes to performance, Texas charter schools are a mixed bag. Charter schools
represent 6% of campuses in the state, but represent 18% of Texas’ campuses that failed to meet
federal Adequate Yearly Progress standards for the past five consecutive years.
Every year, CHILDREN AT RISK ranks schools across the state on a variety of performance indicators,
including test scores, advanced coursework, and class size. In 2012, CHILDREN AT RISK ranked over 7,000
schools, dividing them into four “tiers,” with Tier 1 being the top 25% of schools in the state and Tier 4
containing the bottom 25% of schools in the state. Thus, for any group of schools, you would expect 25%
to fall into each tier.
The charter schools included CHILDREN AT RISK’s 2012 rankings tended to cluster at the top and bottom
of the rankings (see Table 4). Seventy percent of all the charters in the rankings were in either Tier 1
(32%) or Tier 4 (38%). Of the 140 included elementary charters, nearly half (48%) fell into Tier 4, while
19% made it to Tier 1. Larger proportions of middle school and high school charters fell into Tier 1 (40%
and 58%, respectively).
Table 4: Charter School Performance in C@R School Rankings
Total Campuses
Tier 1
Tier 4
High Schools
26
58%
27%
Middle Schools
126
40%
30%
Elementary Schools
140
19%
48%
Total
292
32%
38%
The fact that charter schools are overrepresented among both the best and worst schools in the state
reveals something interesting. Some charters are clearly living up to their charge to provide students
with an outstanding education. Others, especially at the elementary level, lag on most performance
indicators and are doing their students a disservice.
Texas Charter Schools - Performance
Because they have greater freedom, it can be argued that charter schools should be held to a higher
level of accountability. A solid charter school should perform at or above the average for public schools
in the surrounding region. In order to compare charter schools to their traditional peers, CHILDREN AT
RISK looked to two different accountability tools.
Adequate Yearly Progress
Created under the No Child Left Behind Act, adequate yearly progress (AYP) is the measurement used by
the federal government to track school performance. In Texas, campuses are judged on a combination
of standardized test scores and graduation rates (for high schools) and attendance rates (for middle and
elementary schools). Schools are judged to either meet or fail to meet AYP. Campuses that fail to meet
AYP for two consecutive years become subject to campus improvement plans that can involve
significant restructuring, the replacement of teachers and staff, or school closure.
Many Texas charter schools have struggled to meet AYP on a consistent basis. Of the 175 charter school
campuses in Texas that were not exempt from AYP reporting requirements in the past three years, just
56 (32%) campuses failed to meet AYP at least once in the past three years. A total of 22 (8%) charter
schools failed to meet AYP two or more times in the past five years.
Standardized Testing
In Texas, public school students sit yearly for standardized tests that cover a range of subjects. Students
who take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills2 exam are scored as either Failing, Passing, or
Commended. The raw score students need to be classified at each level varies by testing subject. The
bar for students to be considered “Passing” is quite low. Thus, for this report, the focus is on students
scoring at the higher “Commended” level, which is more analogous to high standards and college
readiness.
2
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is currently being phased out in favor of the new State of
Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR).
In order to judge charter school performance on TAKS, the average percentage of students scoring at
the commended level on TAKS reading and math exams was calculated for all schools that fall into the
middle 50%3 of schools in their region. Then, the percentage of students scoring at the commended
level at charter school campuses was compared against this average, offering us a gauge of whether
charter schools are performing above or below average.
Some charter campuses offer excellent programs and place highly in CHILDREN AT RISK’s annual
rankings. However, when compared against average commended rates on TAKS exams for all schools in
their region, only a few charter schools rank among the top schools. A disturbing number of charter
schools failed to meet the regional averages for TAKS commended performance.
Although 46% of Texas charter schools have consistently met AYP standards, far fewer excel at having
students attain the commended level on TAKS testing. This is worrying, as a school that meets AYP but
has 0% of its students achieving at the commended level on their TAKS tests cannot be seen as a true
success.
Implications
Too many of Texas’ children are languishing in poor-performing charter schools. Charter schools that
recruit low-income and at-risk students and then fail to deliver good results are doing their communities
a great disservice. At the same time, many outstanding charter campuses have waiting lists that run
hundreds of names long. This imbalance must be addressed.
3
As determined by the 2012 CHILDREN AT RISK school rankings.
CHILDREN AT RISK proposes that all Texas charter schools be held to high accountability standards that
are at least equal to those placed upon traditional public schools. If charter schools are unable to
maintain high academic standards, they should be closed in a manner that causes minimal disruption to
students. Consistently poor-performing charter schools should be shuttered, making way for the charter
schools that deliver on their promise to provide an outstanding education for their students.
Appendix 1: Blue Ribbon Charter Schools
CHILDREN AT RISK designates the following campuses as “Blue Ribbon Charter Schools” for having TAKS
Commended rates that exceed the average among the top 25% of schools in their region. These charter
schools deserve special recognition for providing a comparatively great education, even when compared
among the best.
Blue Ribbon Charter Schools

 Children First of Dallas, Dallas County
 Harmony Science Academy (Fort Worth), Tarrant County
 Houston Gateway Academy, Harris County
 Mainland Preparatory Academy, Galveston County
 North Hills Preparatory High School Campus, Dallas County
 North Hills Primary School, Dallas County
 Peak Preparatory High School Campus, Dallas County
Richland Collegiate High School of Math and Science, Dallas County
 Star Charter School, Travis County
 Summit International Preparatory, Tarrant County
 Universal Academy - Flower Mound, Dallas County
 Westlake Academy, Tarrant County
 YES Prep – Gulfton, Harris County
 YES Prep – North Central Campus, Harris County
 YES Prep – Southeast Campus, Harris County
 YES Prep – Southwest Campus, Harris County
Appendix 2: Habitually Failing Charter Schools
CHILDREN AT RISK designates the following campuses as “Habitually Failing Charter Schools.” Each of
the schools listed has not only failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress for at least two of the past five
years, but also ranked among the bottom 50% (Tiers 3 and 4) of public schools in Texas according to
CHILDREN AT RISK’s most recent School Rankings.
Habitually Failing Schools
Academy of Dallas, Dallas County
 Advantage Academy, Dallas County
Corpus Christi College Prep. High School, Bexar County


Katherine Anne Porter School, Hays County
 Life School Oak Cliff, Dallas County
 Lighthouse Charter School, Bexar County
 Metro Academy of Math and Science, Tarrant County
 The Phoenix Charter School, Hunt County
 The Preparatory Academy of Houston, Harris County
 Rick Hawkins High School, Bexar County
 San Antonio Technology Academy, Bexar County
 Southwest Middle School, Harris County
 Texas Virtual Academy at Southwest, Harris County
 Waco Charter School, McLennan County
 Zoe Learning Academy, Harris County
