The purpose of this study is to analyze the academic quality of Ohio K-8 charter schools as measured by the Ohio Achievement Test. For the purpose of answering the research questions, this study utilized an ex post facto, quantitative research design. Student performance data are compared between the non-traditional schools of choice option known as charter schools and traditional comparable public schools. Achievement is analyzed via an evaluation framework for charter school quality developed by the National Consensus Panel on Charter School Academic Quality.
The percentage of students who pass the reading and mathematics of the Ohio grades 3,5 and 8 achievement test, reported on the individual charter schools and their comparable traditional district school’s local report card (LRC), was the dependent variable. From the sample population of charter school buildings, LRCs were collected from the Ohio Department of Education website for at least 3 years of previous Ohio Achievement Test data.
The percentage of students who have passed the Reading and Math sections of the Ohio Achievement Test for grades 3, 5 and 8 was collected. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were used to determine the difference between means for each sub-test between charter schools and the traditional comparable school district. Academic achievement was significantly better in 8th grade reading for African American students in charter schools when compared to African American students in the comparable traditional district school. Traditional comparable school districts outperformed charter schools in overall reading and mathematics.