Student Achievement in Rhode Island Charter Schools: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Using standardized test results from the school year 2018-19 this study compares the performance of 3rd through 8th graders in Rhode Island charter schools to their peers in traditional public schools (TPSs). This study also uses OLS techniques to test if Rhode Island charter schools help to bridge the achievement gap between minority (black and Hispanic) students and white students. The results show that in approximately ¾ of comparable instances, Rhode Island charter schools outperform TPSs on both English and math standardized tests. Additionally, it was found that Hispanic students attending a charter school are predicted to score higher on both English and math standardized tests than Hispanic students attending TPSs, ceteris paribus. Black students attending charter schools were also predicted to score higher on English standardized tests but lower on math standardized tests than black students attending TPSs, ceteris paribus