CHARTER SCHOOLS IN NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK: A COMPARISON OF CHARTER AND TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of traditional public schools versus charter schools in serving low socioeconomic (low SES) communities in Nassau County. Results from the New York State Standardized Exams (Math and ELA) were used as a comparative measure between both school types serving high need students in that county. Data were collected from 2,250 eighth-graders enrolled in three (3) charter schools and six (6) public schools in Nassau County, NY in 2018-2019, and an Independent Samples t-test was employed to effect analysis. Results indicate that students in these charter schools outperformed public school students in terms of overall performance in math and ELA combined, t(16) = -3.517, p \u3c .003, the mean difference in scores being 16.42 points. Specifically, math scores within the charter schools (M = 609.67) were higher than those within the public school setting (M = 586.00) and were statistically significant, t(7) = -3.137, p \u3c .016. ELA scores approached significance, t(7) = -2.129, p \u3c .071, based on a mean charter school score of M = 605.33 and a mean public school score of M = 596.17. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of charter schools to inform best practices for educating high-need students in Nassau County