Are Charters More Important Than NCLB?

The WashPost's Jay Mathews writes in today's paper that charters -- not a big topic of conversation at the national political level these days -- may not only be around longer than NCLB (almost certainly true) but also may have just as much if not more of an impact over the long run (an interesting proposition): Charter School Confidential.

To some readers, NCLB and charters are indistinguishable evils that must only be endured. And I'm not sure I share Mathews' fascination with charters, or his ability or willingness to visit and read about them as extensively. Over all, they seem to have had much less impact on the rest of the school system than was initially imagined. (For more on this, see Mike Petrilli's Gadfly post from December, What if competition doesn't work?.) Ditto for small schools.

But I certainly agree it's important to think beyond/outside NCLB at the larger picture, and -- good, bad, or a little of both -- Mathews may be right that charters are a bigger part of what's going on than is currently understood.