Twice Considered: Charter Schools and Student Achievement in Utah

A relatively small state, Utah presents an interesting case to study charter schools given its friendly policy environment for charter schools and its significant growth in both the number and the enrollment of charter schools. Although the population in Utah is increasingly diverse, charter school enrollment reflects a significantly lower portion of students of color and students from low-income families. Similar to many states, questions regarding the effectiveness and viability of charter schools continue to be a point of contention. Based on longitudinal studentlevel data from 2004 to 2009, this paper utilizes two alternative methodologies to evaluate the Utah charter school effectiveness: (a) hierarchical linear growth models with matched sample, and (b) student-fixed effects regressions. Both methods yield consistent results that charter schools on average perform slightly worse as compared to traditional public schools, a result that is primarily affected by the low effectiveness and high student mobility of newly-established charter schools. Interestingly, when charter schools gain more experience they become as effective as traditional public schools, and in some cases more effective than traditional public schools. Given the measured though continuous efforts to expand charter school options, this research has implications for local and state charter school policies, particularly policies that avoid “start-up” costs associated with new charter schools.