The Other Lottery: Are Philanthropists Backing the Best Charter Schools?

The central problem confronting education systems around the world is not that we lack models of excellence; it is our inability to routinely replicate those models. In other fields, we take for granted an endless cycle of innovation and productivity growth that continually makes products and servic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2011
Main Author: Coulson, Andrew J
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Education
The Cato Institute
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Summary:The central problem confronting education systems around the world is not that we lack models of excellence; it is our inability to routinely replicate those models. In other fields, we take for granted an endless cycle of innovation and productivity growth that continually makes products and services better, more affordable, or both. That cycle has not manifested itself in education. Brilliant teachers and high-performing schools can be found in every state and nation, but, like floating candles, they flicker in isolation, failing to touch off a larger blaze. Over the past decade, one of the most prominent strategies for overcoming this problem has been for philanthropists to partner with the best charter schools in an attempt to bring them to scale. The present study seeks an empirical answer to the question: Is that strategy working--are the highest-performing charters attracting the most funding?