Charter Schools and Their Enemies

Charter Schools and Their Enemies is a 2020 book by American economist, social theorist and author Thomas Sowell, in which he compares the educational outcomes of school children educated at charter schools with those at conventional public schools.[1] He argues that charter schools on the whole do significantly better in terms of educational outcomes than conventional schools.

Charter Schools and Their Enemies

First edition
Author	Thomas Sowell
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	Education
Publisher	Basic Books New York
Publication date	June 30, 2020
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback), and audiobook
Pages	276
ISBN	978-1-541-67513-1
OCLC	1137840292

He believes the school system in the United States is in need of reform and makes the case for why the charter school movement is a force for good and how it will help to bring about that reform. It is Sowell's 56th book and was published on his 90th birthday.[2]

Summary

Sowell argues that charter schools are better than conventional schools in numerous ways, but most importantly on educational outcomes. He dispels many claims made about charter schools and tries to demonstrate the need for educational reform in the United States. Sowell dedicates the book to "those children whose futures hang in the balance" as a result of the current state of the education system.[3][2]

Sowell starts by explaining the current situation with charter schools. He explains that public opinion of charter schools is very divided with some calling it either "a striking success or a 'failed and damaging experiment'".[4] He begins by presenting the case of what he sees as a highly successful school in America; Dunbar High School. He highlights the school because he regards it as an institute that brought huge success for black students in the years 1870 to 1955, which showed that this was possible many years before Brown v. Board of Education, which he has criticised. In these years the school produced the first black federal judge, the first black general, the first black cabinet member, and America's first three black women PhDs. He believes the charter school movement could produce schools as good as Dunbar High but has not yet due to the constant push back against charter schools from teachers unions, politicians, and regulators who want to make charter schools more like traditional schools. The hostility of those critics, Sowell says, is a result of the corrupting influence of money, power, and political advantage, but rarely the best interests of children.[1]

He points out that charter schools have been in high demand by parents ever since they began in the 1990s with long waiting lists and a lottery for available slots. This has happened despite strong political and procedural pressures against them. Sowell argues that the threat to schools comes from the political message of “reform,” which undermines “the urgent task of educating young people in the skills that will determine what kind of future they will have available as adults”.[5][2]

Sowell presents lots of data and statistics on charter schools and normal schools in order to compare the two. He concludes that charter schools are an effective weapon against an "achievement gap" between white students and black students with the former often doing better than the latter in educational outcomes at normal schools. An example he gives that aims to prove this point is an example of one predominantly-black charter school with an average household income of $49,000 that had higher test scores than wealthier schools with average household incomes some five times higher.[6]

Sowell explains the ways of measuring results, then lays out the latest data and statistics on educational results in charter schools with appropriate comparisons of standard schools. With these statistics, Sowell lays out his central thesis that charter schools have far better educational outcomes for the students that attend them.[7]

Sowell states that charter schools are much more accountable than most typical public schools. This is because while not all charter schools are successful, they can have their charters revoked which cuts off access to public funds. This means that charter schools are incentivised to do better and are accountable to those who are in control of the funding. This, he writes, is not the case with traditional public schools which do not always have their access to public funds cut off if they start to fail.[8]

A notable quotation from Sowell in regards to dangers to education and charter schools was pointed out in a review by the National Review magazine: "What we can do is consider in advance what kind of general principles and specific institutions seem promising. Perhaps the most important of these general principles is that schools exist for the education of children. Schools do not exist to provide iron-clad jobs for teachers, billions of dollars in union dues for teachers unions, monopolies for educational bureaucracies, a guaranteed market for teachers college degrees or a captive audience for indoctrinators".[9]

Reception

The response among conservative circles was very positive, with people such as Kevin D. Williamson of the conservative magazine National Review praising it as "a bloodbath for Sowell’s intellectual opponents … a neutron bomb in the middle of the school-reform debate.”[9] Another conservative Charter school advocate Robert Pondiscio agreed and said that the book was a “a metaphorical punch in the nose ” for charter school critics and that Sowell “provide[s] ammunition for the fight,” predicting that the book would “embarrass charter critics.”[1]

However, opponents of charter schools have argued that Sowell ignores evidence of charter schools weaknesses. Namely, their view that charter success is an illusion because charters’ performance stems from a selection effect. As education historian and former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch explains, charter schools consist only of “the most motivated students and their families.” Furthermore, in reviewing Sowell's book, Glenn Sacks, a teacher and co-chairman of a Los Angeles teachers union, says that Sowell ignores the real reason behind charters schools high test scores. Sacks says that the high test scores are a result of only the top students being allowed into charter schools. He cites Gordon Lafer, Ph.D., of the University of Oregon, a union study of charters schools and a nationwide Reuters investigation which found that charter admission policies screen out underperforming students who would be the neediest and most expensive to serve — who then have to turn to district schools. This leaves only the better students which, he argues, explains the high test scores.[10]

References

1. Pondiscio, Robert (Fall 2020). "Education Next". Education Next. 20 (4).
2. Galles, Gary M (Fall 2020). "Charter Schools and Their Enemies Reviewed by Independent". Independent. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
3. Sowell, Charter Schools… pp. iii
4. Sowell, Charter Schools… pp. 1
5. Sowell, Charter Schools… pp. 120
6. Carden, Art (3 July 2020). "Charters Close The Achievement Gap, Says Thomas Sowell". Forbes. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
7. Sowell, Charter Schools… pp. 7
8. Williams, Walter (6 July 2020). "Williams: Charter schools and their enemies". Retrieved 2 September 2020.
9. D. Williamson, Kevin (9 July 2020). "The Collapsing Case against Charter Schools".
10. Sacks, Glenn (2 August 2020). "Thomas Sowell Goes to Bat for Charter Schools".

External links

Thomas Sowell website: https://www.tsowell.com/