Why it’s wrong to deny Kentucky’s students the benefit of public charter schools

Once you start to compare the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores for students in Florida’s charter schools to those in Kentucky, where there are no charter schools, the commonwealth’s need for this important school choice option becomes readily apparent.

The table below shows the 2022 results from the NAEP Grade 4 Reading Assessment. For Florida, scores for both students in that state’s public charter school system (shaded in yellow) and those in the state’s traditional public schools (shaded in green) are shown

Because Kentucky has no charter schools, you will only find scores for the Bluegrass State listed in the green not a charter school area.

Let’s look at some interesting comparisons.

First, note in the green shaded area that white students in Kentucky’s traditional schools scored 220 on NAEP Grade 4 Reading.

Now, check out the Florida charter school student scores. Not only did the white students in Florida’s charter schools outscore Kentucky’s whites, but it looks like Charter school Black and Hispanic students in Florida outscored Kentucky’s whites – yes, Kentucky’s whites, as well!

Next, consider some achievement gaps.

The white minus Black achievement gap in Florida’s charter schools was 10 NAEP Scale Score points. The white minus Black gap in Kentucky’s traditional schools was 20 points – TWICE as large.

The white minus Hispanic score gap in Florida’s charters was just 8 NAEP Scale Score Points. Kentucky’s white minus Hispanic gap was 13 points, again notably larger.

Finally, let’s deal with the argument that charter schools damage traditional schools. If you look at the scores in the green area of the table you will see that Florida’s traditional public school students have outscored their racial counterparts in Kentucky, as well.

This factual performance data will help better understand the Bluegrass Institute’s press release’s dismay with the Franklin Circuit Court ruling that Kentucky cannot have charter schools.

As that press release notes:

“Today’s ruling by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd denies Kentucky families whose children remain trapped in failing schools the opportunity of enrolling their children in charter schools – a public-school option available to parents in 45 other states, including many with which Kentucky competes for population growth and economic development.”

Hopefully, justices who will likely hear an appeal of this ruling will consider what charter schools can do for Kentucky’s students along with the fact that charter schools are also public schools and come to a much better decision for our children. Until that happens, students in Florida’s charter school system will likely to continue to see Kentucky’s kids far back in their rearview mirrors.