How Do Charter Schools Compare to “Schools with Students Like Ours” in South Carolina?

How Do Charter Schools Compare to “Schools with Students Like Ours” in South Carolina?

(UPDATED and Expanded)

Using the South Carolina School Report Card system and the state Poverty Index, the tables below list charter schools within the SC Public School Charter District and additional charter schools within public school districts to identify how charter schools in SC compare with “Schools with Students Like Ours” (a metric established by the SC Department of Education, see notes).

Conclusions

• Charter schools in SC have produced outcomes below and occasionally typical of outcomes of public schools; thus, claims of exceptional outcomes for charter schools in SC are unsupported by the data (3/53 ABOVE Typical, 17/53 Typical, and 33/53 BELOW Typical).

• Charter schools in SC vary widely in student populations relative to the Poverty Index; but high-poverty charter schools appear to function below typical compared to high-poverty public schools, and thus, offer rare examples of meeting the needs of high-poverty students superior to outcomes found in public schools.

• Charter school advocacy in SC should be measured against the available data when that advocacy makes claims of exceptional outcomes or outcomes superior to similar public schools.

• Student populations served, stratification of students, enrollment, attrition, teacher status, and teacher turnover remain areas of concern for current charter schools and considerations of expanding charter schools in the state.

SC Poverty Index 2011

2012 ESEA – SC Public School Charter District

Overall Weighted Points Total	69.7
Overall Grade Conversion	D
Points Total - Elementary Grades	80.6
Points Total - Middle Grades	79.1
Points Total - High School Grades	36.7

SC Public School Charter District - EAA School Report Cards 2011

District Summary    District Full

Elementary	Poverty Index	Relative to “Schools with Students Like Ours” (1)
LAKE CITY COLLEGE PREP ACADEMY At-Risk/Below Average, AYP NM Summary   Full	96.63	BELOW Typical 87/161 Average
MARY L DINKINS CHARTER At-Risk/At-Risk, AYP NM Summary   Full	100	BELOW Typical 93/115 Average, Below Average
SC CONNECTIONS ACADEMY Average/Below Average, AYP NM Summary   Full	64.7	BELOW Typical 68/83 Excellent, Good
SC VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOL Average/Below Average, AYP NM Summary   Full	73.22	BELOW Typical 68/108 Excellent, Good
SOUTH CAROLINA CALVERT ACADEMY Below Average/Average, AYP NM Summary   Full	55.72	BELOW Typical 54/60 Excellent, Good
SPARTANBURG CHARTER SCHOOL Good/Good, AYP NM Summary   Full	55.21	BELOW Typical 33/58 Excellent
YORK PREPARATORY ACADEMY Good/Below Average, AYP NM Summary   Full	29.56	BELOW Typical 18/19 Excellent

Middle	Poverty Index	Relative to “Schools with Students Like Ours” (2)
CALHOUN FALLS CHARTER Below Average/Below Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	89.34	BELOW Typical 30/58 Average
LAKE CITY COLLEGE PREP ACADEMY At-Risk/At-Risk, AYP NM Summary    Full	96.63	BELOW Typical 37/62 Average, Below Average
MARY L DINKINS CHARTER At-Risk/At-Risk, AYP NM Summary    Full	100	BELOW Typical 18/37 Average, Below Average
PALMETTO SCHOLARS ACADEMY Excellent/Good, AYP M Summary    Full	31.82	Typical 10/11 Excellent
SC CONNECTIONS ACADEMY Average/Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	64.7	BELOW Typical 27/48 Excellent, Good
SC VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOL Average/Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	73.22	Typical 37/57 Average
SOUTH CAROLINA CALVERT ACADEMY Below Average/Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	55.72	BELOW Typical 26/34 Excellent, Good
YORK PREPARATORY ACADEMY Good/Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	29.56	BELOW Typical 10/11 Excellent

High	Poverty Index	Relative to “Schools with Students Like Ours” (3)
CALHOUN FALLS CHARTER Average/N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	89.34	Typical 18/42 Average
MARY L DINKINS CHARTER N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	100	N/A
PALMETTO STATE E-CADEMY At-Risk/N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	65.06	BELOW Typical 38/40 Excellent, Good, Average
PROVOST ACADEMY SOUTH CAROLINA N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	71.82	N/A
SC CONNECTIONS ACADEMY Below Average/N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	64.7	BELOW Typical 38/40 Excellent, Good, Average
SC VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOL At-Risk/N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	73.22	BELOW Typical 23/40 Average

SC Charter Schools (outside SCPCSD)

School	Poverty Index	Relative to “Schools with Students Like Ours” (1, 2, 3)
FOX CREEK HIGH Excellent/Good, AYP M Summary    Full	45.07	Typical 17/21 Excellent
CHARTER ACADEMY FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING Average/Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	57.41	BELOW Typical 30/38 Excellent, Good
BRIDGEWATER ACADEMY CHARTER Average/Excellent, AYP NM Summary   Full	74.36	BELOW Typical 65/110 Excellent, Good
PALMETTO ACADEMY OF LEARNING (E) Excellent/Average, AYP M Summary   Full	57.25	Typical 30/65 Excellent
PALMETTO ACADEMY OF LEARNING (M) Good/Average, AYP M Summary    Full	57.25	Typical 16/37 Good
AIKEN PERFORMING ARTS CHARTER At-Risk/At-Risk, AYP M Summary    Full	76.27	BELOW Typical 23/33 Average
KENNEDY/LLOYD CHARTER SCHOOL At-Risk/Below Average, AYP M Summary    Full	93.75	BELOW Typical 51/72 Average, Below Average
MIDLAND VALLEY CHARTER PREPARATORY SCHOOL Below Average/Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	79.63	BELOW Typical 43/59 Average
BRASHIER MIDDLE COLLEGE CHARTER Excellent/Good, AYP M Summary    Full	18.86	Typical 5/5 Excellent
LANGSTON CHARTER MIDDLE SCHOOL Excellent/Excellent, AYP M Summary    Full	16.15	Typical 4/4 Excellent
LEAD ACADEMY Below Average/Average, AYP NM Summary   Full	88.16	BELOW Typical 97/129 Average
MEYER CENTER FOR SPECIAL CHILDREN Excellent/Good, AYP M Summary    Full	94	Typical 8/10 Excellent
CAROLINA SCHOOL FOR INQUIRY Below Average/Average, AYP NM Summary   Full	85.22	BELOW Typical 89/124 Average
LEGACY CHARTER (ELEM) Below Average/Below Average, AYP NM Summary   Full	87.31	BELOW Typical 97/125 Average
LEGACY CHARTER (MID) At-Risk/At-Risk, AYP NM Summary    Full	87.31	BELOW Typical 46/49 Average, Below Average
GREENVILLE TECHNICAL CHARTER Excellent/Excellent, AYP M Summary    Full	27.49	Typical 5/5 Excellent
GREER MIDDLE COLLEGE CHARTER SCHOOL Excellent/N/A, AYP M Summary    Full	21.48	Typical 5/5 Excellent
RICHLAND 1 CHARTER MIDDLE COLLEGE N/A Summary    Full	78.87	N/A
MIDLANDS MATH & BUSINESS CHARTER ACADEMY (E) Below Average/At-Risk, AYP NM Summary   Full	94.19	BELOW Typical 110/191 Average
MIDLANDS MATH & BUSINESS CHARTER ACADEMY (M) Below Average/Below Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	94.19	Typical 31/71 Below Average
CHARLESTON CHARTER SCHOOL FOR MATH AND SCIENCE (H) N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	57.91	N/A
CHARLESTON CHARTER SCHOOL FOR MATH AND SCIENCE (M) Average/Average, AYP NM Summary    Full	57.91	BELOW Typical 33/41 Excellent, Good
CHARLESTON DEVELOPMENTAL ACADEMY CHARTER (E) Good/Excellent, AYP M Summary   Full	91.96	ABOVE Typical 104/166 Average
CHARLESTON DEVELOPMENTAL ACADEMY CHARTER (M) Average/Average, AYP M Summary    Full	91.96	ABOVE Typical 43/70 Below Average, At-Risk
GREG MATHIS CHARTER At-Risk/Below Average, N/A Summary    Full	98.94	Typical 6/14 At-Risk
JAMES ISLAND CHARTER HIGH Excellent/Excellent, AYP NM Summary    Full	47.22	Typical 18/26 Excellent
EAST COOPER MONTESSORI CHARTER (E) Excellent/Excellent, AYP M Summary   Full	13.54	Typical 7/7 Excellent
EAST COOPER MONTESSORI CHARTER (M) Excellent/Excellent, AYP M Summary    Full	13.54	Typical 3/3 Excellent
ORANGE GROVE CHARTER Excellent/Excellent, AYP NM Summary   Full	61.26	ABOVE Typical 32/68 Good
PATTISONS ACADEMY (E) N/A, AYP NM Summary   Full	100	N/A
PATTISONS ACADEMY (M) N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	100	N/A
THE APPLE CHARTER SCHOOL At-Risk/At-Risk, AYP NM Summary   Full	95.73	BELOW Typical 99/187 Average
CHILDREN'S ATTENTION CHARTER (E) At-Risk/At-Risk, AYP NM Summary   Full	96.77	BELOW Typical 87/171 Average
CHILDREN'S ATTENTION CHARTER (M) N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	96.77	N/A
CHOICES (M) At-Risk/At-Risk, AYP NM Summary    Full	92.73	BELOW Typical 47/65 Average, Below Average
CHOICES (H) N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	92.73	N/A
DISCOVERY CHARTER OF LANCASTER Excellent/Excellent, AYP M Summary   Full	39.81	Typical 23/25 Excellent
PHOENIX CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL At-Risk/Excellent, N/A Summary    Full	87.5	BELOW Typical 19/40 Average
PALMETTO YOUTH ACADEMY Below Average/Good, AYP M Summary   Full	93.22	BELOW Typical 109/182 Average
RICHLAND TWO CHARTER HIGH N/A, AYP NM Summary    Full	N/A	N/A
RIVERVIEW CHARTER SCHOOL Good/Good, AYP M Summary   Full	35.31	BELOW Typical 22/23 Excellent
YOUTH ACADEMY CHARTER N/A, AYP NMSummary    Full	100	N/A

(1) Ratings are calculated with data available by 11/09/2011.  Schools with Students Like Ours are Elementary Schools with Poverty Indices of no more than 5% above or below the index for this school.

(2) Ratings are calculated with data available by 11/09/2011.  Schools with Students Like Ours are Middle Schools with Poverty Indices of no more than 5% above or below the index for this school.

(3) Ratings are calculated with data available by 11/09/2011.  Schools with Students Like Ours are High Schools with Poverty Indices of no more than 5% above or below the index for this school.