Charter Schools Argumentative Essay

Words: 456
Pages: 2

Charter schools, under Shanker’s conception, were meant to promote the central goal of public education to create equality of all citizens through learning. However, the current education system in America, including many charter school programs, falls short of this objective. Charter schools, on average, homogenize racial and socioeconomic classes within the school. There are many positive outcomes that can result from this homogeneity, including efficient use of resources in addressing children with similar needs and producing a safe and comfortable space where students can learn from individuals like them. Charter schools are more likely to be located in urban environments because of the low quality of traditional public schools in the area …show more content…
education system to allow charter programs to explicitly target racial, ethnic, or income. For the past 50 years, studies have consistently shown that one of the most important factors in improving student achievement is the promotion of integrated and diverse student environments of race, class, ethnicity, and more. In the release of the 1966 Coleman Report concerning the equality of educational opportunities, it cited a student’s socioeconomic status as the most important indicator of academic achievement. However, the second most important indicator for success in the classroom was the socioeconomic makeup of the school itself. Furthermore, scores on the national NAEP exam showed that low-income students that attend middle-income schools learn one half more of an academic year over middle-income students that attend low-income schools (CITE). The results also show that increasing diversity and integration within schools does not negatively impact middle and high-income students. These results are valid for a variety of reasons, including the roles of students as good role models, involved parents that push the school to improve, and better quality teachers to challenge students in middle and high-income