Why Charter Scores Don't Matter: A Post From Kevin Kosar

Political scientist Kevin Kosar, whose book about the politics of national education standards some readers may remember from this past winter, was kind enough to send me his provocative thoughts about charter schools and test scores.

He writes: "As the charter school movement has grown, so has the intensity of the political brawls over their academic performance. Intense debate is not a bad thing. Each side has an interest in showing that the "facts" support their position. Yet, from this political scientist's perspective, there is also something irrelevant about this debate."

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By Kevin R. Kosar

As the charter school movement has grown, so has the intensity of the political brawls over their academic performance. Intense debate is not a bad thing. Each side has an interest in showing that the "facts" support their position. Yet, from this political scientist's perspective, there is also something irrelevant about this debate.

If, as political sociologist Harold Lasswell once put it, politics can be defined as "who gets what, when, and how," charter school advocates seek to direct public funds away from an existent institution (government-operated schools) toward parents.

The political dynamic, then, is a clash between an institution and the citizenry. The dissatisfied many are challenging the reigning few. Critically, the many have much to gain— power over public funds and choices for schooling for their children. The few, meanwhile, as defenders of the status quo, have only to lose.

In a liberal-democratic system such as ours, a dissatisfied many tends to extract concessions from the few over the long run. The charter school movement's capture of public schooling funds over the past decade appears to be only the beginning of a shift in power.

Politics can also be seen as a struggle over government support of particular values. Here, too, charter school advocates appear to have the upper hand. They have tapped into deeply held American values by promoting charter schools as "independent" and "diverse."

They have portrayed charter schools as an expression of positive liberty, understood as the possession of the power and freedom to pursue one's own good. Charter school proponents have also been able to hitch the notion of choice to equality. "The rich," they note, "already have school choice. Why not the poor too?"

The opponents of charter schools, meanwhile, have stumbled when taking values positions. They appeal to American's sense of nostalgia by recalling the glorious tradition of government schools. Then, to the confusion of listeners, they issue pleas for more money and time to improve the schools.

Worse, as an idea, "public school choice" little connects with Americans' values and seems internally confused. It holds that parents should be free to choose the best school for their children; yet, parents' range of choice must be limited to government-operated schools. This baffles many and appears to subordinate the best interests of the children to those of the government-run schools.

In the short-term, political skirmishes over charter schools will continue to be protracted, nasty battles. And I am not suggesting that whether charter schools do or don't raise student achievement and serve children and parents well are unimportant issues.

But these "facts" about charter schools' performance may have little effect on the long-term outcome of the political clash over charter schools. They are political epiphenomena.

Even if charter schools are not clearly better than the government-provided schools, parents will want the power to choose. Like it or not, then, over time, we can expect to see elected officials concede more control over public funds for schooling to parents and to permit the opening of more charter schools.

Accordingly, we all might benefit from spending less energy debating test scores. Charter schools are here to stay, so let's ponder how best to make them work for America's children.

Kosar is the author of Failing Grades: The Federal Politics of Education Standards (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005).