Nearly 70 percent of charter schools have a student racial or ethnic composition that is similar to their surrounding school districts. An additional 17 percent of charter schools serve a higher percentage of students of color than their surrounding districts. The demand for charter schools remains high. Most charter schools are newly created, small schools. The median enrollment is 137 students, less than one-third the median enrollment of 475 in public schools in States with charter school laws.
Charter schools are accountable for results.
More than 90 percent of charter schools use student achievement tests, augmented by other measures of student performance, to make reports to their chartering agency, the school s governing board, and community members, including parents. The charter movement is one of the Administration's most important legacies. Its support for charter schools as a desirable and effective form of public school choice has helped convince millions of people, from State legislators to civil rights legend Rosa Parks to Arizona's teacher of the year Karen Butterfield, that the charter movement has great value. Charter school organizers consistently cite the Administration's support as a valuable tool for conveying the importance of the charter concept. This support has not been only verbal.