U.S. Department of Education: Promoting Educational Excellence for all Americans

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Public Charter Schools Program - 2002

CFDA Number: 84.282 - Charter Schools


Goal 8: To support the creation of a large number of high-quality charter schools and to evaluate their effects.
Objective 8.1 of 1: Encourage the development of a large number of high-quality charter schools that are free from state or local rules that inhibit flexible operation, are held accountable for enabling students to reach challenging state performance standards, and are open to all students.
Indicator 8.1.1 of 2: State legislation: By 2000, 40 states will have charter school legislation.
Targets and Performance Data Assessment of Progress Sources and Data Quality
Number of states with charter school legislation (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico)
Year Actual Performance Performance Targets
1995
12
 
1996
19
 
1997
27
 
1998
31
 
1999
38
 
2000
38
40
2001
39
42
2002
40
42
Status: Target not met

Progress: There has been a positive gain even with only two state persuing legislation between 1999 and 2002. Several states will be considering legislation this year.

Explanation: Data shows positive trend even with gain of only one state between 1999 and 2001. Several States will be considering legislation this year. Several states have considered, but have not yet passed, legislation. We will continue to provide information and technical assistance to those states and to new states that are considering legislation.   		Additional Source Information: State Educational Agencies (SEA); state legislatures.

Frequency: Annually.
Collection Period: 2002 - 2003
Data Available: January 2003
Validated By: On-Site Monitoring By ED.

Limitations: There is variation in the definition of state charter school legislation.

Improvements: N/A

 
Indicator 8.1.2 of 2: Charter operations: By 2002, there will be at least 3,000 charter schools in operation around the Nation.
Targets and Performance Data Assessment of Progress Sources and Data Quality
Number of charter schools in operation
Year Actual Performance Performance Targets
1995
100
 
1996
255
 
1997
428
 
1998
790
 
1999
1,100
 
2000
1,700
2,060
2001
2,110
2,667
2002
2,431
3,000
Status: Target not met

Progress: There has been a positive trend toward meeting this objective. The number of charter schools in operation has dramatically increased from 100 in 1994 to 2,431 in 2002

Explanation: Several states have met caps on the number of charter schools allowed, and the growth has declined slightly to about 400 new schools per year. Several states are considering raising their caps.   		Source: Other
Other: Other.
Sponsor: Center for Education Reform annual survey; State Education Agencies.

Frequency: Annually.
Collection Period: 2002 - 2003
Data Available: January 2003
Validated By: On-Site Monitoring By ED.

Limitations: Differences in the definition of charter schools (i.e., some states count multiple sites as single charter schools, while others count them as multiple charter schools) cause variability in the counts SEAs. There is sometimes disagreement about numbers of charter schools in operation among the agencies that do the counting.

Improvements: N/A

 

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