Especially if they work. But that's where the battle lines get drawn, since the measure of success for charters depends on who you ask. Safety, individual attention, a focus on self-esteem are all popular benefits of charters. Some say they're enough. But they're not.
Academic performance is the bottom line, and the most critical benchmark for measuring any school.
Academic performance was an issue in the board's decision not to renew the World Communications School charter without a hearing. The school failed to meet fair student performance standards. Not only did their test scores decline, but the scores were lower than those of public school students in some of the schools charter students would have attended. The Rev. Robert Shine, World Communications board chairman, suggested charters should be held to different criteria, not simply test scores. If you experience any problems with the Daily News Web site, please let us know.