The effect of charter schools on achievement and behavior of public school students

Charter schools have seen dramatic growth over the last decade. However, we know little about how they affect traditional public schools. I look at how charters affect student outcomes in public schools using data from a large urban school district in the southwest. Unlike prior work that relies on school fixed effects, I address the endogenous location of charter schools using an instrumental variables strategy that relies on plausibly exogenous variation in local building supply. Results show that charters induce modest but statistically significant drops in math and language test scores, particularly for elementary students. However, results for middle and high school students show improvements in discipline.

Research Highlights►Instrumental variables strategy for addressing charter location choice. ►Nearby charter schools reduce math and language achievement in public schools. ►Impacts primarily in elementary grades. ►Middle/high schools see improvements in behavior and attendance from charters.