WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite making up only two percent of the nation's public schools, charter schools made a statistically impressive showing on U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best High Schools, on newsstands this week.
Nearly 1,600 schools earned a place on the list. Of these, charters make up 15 percent of the top 20 schools and 4 percent of all schools on the list.
"There's no denying that charter schools have at last come into the mainstream," said Jeanne Allen, president and founder of The Center for Education Reform. "Fully 11 percent of the top 100 schools on this list are charters - that's nine percent more than their overall ratio among all public schools."
In most public school districts with charter schools, the number of charter high schools is often lower than charter elementary and middle schools, making their overrepresentation on this list statistically significant.
Currently, 40 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws of varying strength. Alabama, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia have yet to enact legislation allowing charter schools.
Allen noted that despite undeniable evidence that charter schools have a positive impact on students and school districts, many states remain slow to warm up to the idea of charter schools. Just last week, the Nevada board of education imposed a moratorium on any new charter schools, citing a lack of administrative resources.
"The disproportionately high percentage of charters on this new list not only shows that charters work by bringing badly needed educational options to scores of American families, it should also bring comfort to policymakers across the nation who are considering improving or expanding their charter school laws," Allen said.
The Center for Education Reform annually ranks the quality of state charter school laws and provides a complete list of all charter schools in the country. Both can be found at the Center's web site, http://www.edreform.com/.
Center for Education Reform
