The authors wish to thank several colleagues whose names do not appear in this volume:

To Bonnee Groover, whose grasp of the project, its deadlines, and a growing list of software, kept the study running smoothly.

To Kathryn Valdes, whose responsive, competent, and creative computer programming made the survey data make sense.

To Klaus Krause, whose careful editing made this report make sense.

To Meredith Miller, the project officer for this study, a true partner in each stage of the evaluation.

To the members of the study?s Technical Work Group: Jose Afonso, Josephine Baker, Marcella Dianda, James Goenner, Margaret Goertz, Eric Hirsch, Ginger Hovenic, Karen Seashore Louis, Bruno Manno, Wayne Martin, and Eric Rofes.

And a special thanks to the state charter school coordinators and charter school authorizers who were interviewed and the members of the charter school community who participated in focus groups.