Charter School Sustainability or Student Achievement?
Gemma Abels
Most charter schools promise higher test scores than conventional public schools, and Rocketship charters have been the loudest proponent of a test driven approach. Let’s set aside for a moment the problems with the test and the problems caused by teaching to the test and excluding other educational experiences. Charter schools would have us measure their success by looking at API (Academic Performance Index) scores. So how does Rocketship do? The answer is poorly.
At a recent charter workshop held at the Santa Clara Office of Education, board members said that they should consider the sustainability of a charter school in their approval process. The largest charter school network in Santa Clara County is Rocketship Education, and the county Board must be impressed by their sustainability because there will eventually be twenty Rocketship schools in the county.
