Policy Objectives & Legislation learning opportunities for students greater learning gains for students different & innovative teaching methods different & innovative forms of measuring outcomes new forms of accountability for schools professional opportunities for teachers

Policy Objectives & Legislation learning opportunities for students greater learning gains for students different & innovative teaching methods different & innovative forms of measuring outcomes new forms of accountability for schools professional opportunities for teachers

Expectations Competition will “induce a more rapid rate of innovation into curriculum and teaching.” …“oases of innovation in a larger desert of monopolistic and cookie-cutter schools.” …“break-the-mold” … “engines of innovation” “This R & D potential is an important part of any policy- oriented appraisal of the charter phenomenon.”

Expectations … “the real issue is whether what goes on in the classroom has substantially changed” … “you have to go beyond advertising and outreach and get down to the classroom level”

Charter School Logic Model INPUTS: Structural reforms of governance (autonomy, choice, competition)  Opportunities and incentives (market-like environment)  OUTCOMES: Innovation in educational practice not possible in state classrooms  Greater & more equitable student achievement. (Miron & Nelson, 2002)

Analytical Framework At what level within institutions does the practice represent change? To what extent is the practice established and familiar, or original and unique? To what extent is this true within and across educational sectors?

Patterns Organizational/Administrative innovations are quite common in areas such as marketing, governance, employment, contracting Charter schools are diversifying programmatic options in local contexts Educational practices are largely familiar at the technical core

Logic (revisited) INPUTS: Structural reforms of governance (autonomy, choice, competition)  Opportunities and incentives (market-like environment)  OUTCOMES Organizational innovations failure of incentives for innovation in practices not present in district classrooms

Issues Regarding Innovation Parents as inherently cautious proxy-consumers Asymmetries in information for consumers Consumer information on a common metric Perverse incentives in public education Mimetic and competitive isomorphism Corporate penetration and standardization Levels of competition, costs and risks

Further Considerations Research and development, competition, and cooperation/collusion Shift from independent and for-profit to (scaled-up) non- profit model driven by social entrepreneurs Potential of CMOs (Charter School Management Organizations)

Re-Conceiving Expectations for Charter School Innovations R & D Centers / Laboratories Greenhouses Showrooms

Theory of “Second Best” Markets and Correctives Certain “markets” necessarily deviate from idealized pure market > sub-optimal outcomes Moral hazards However, partial remedies to approximate a “purer” (1st best) market > perverted incentives, and unknowable / unintended (3rd best) outcomes (see Lipsey & Lancaster, 1956; Kuttner, 1999)

Practices Reported as Innovations Educational processes Programmatic policies Other organizational behaviors n hands-on / active learning n cooperative learning n curric. package (Saxon, Edison) n basics / core knowledge focus n use of portfolios n Montessori / Waldorf n academic / thematic focus n group focus / theme n de-tracking n scheduling / add-ons n discipline / conduct codes n student uniforms n parent involvement n smaller school or class size n shared governance n operations (contracting-out) n employment (merit pay, etc.) n marketing

Administrative / Organization- Level Practices in Charter Schools

Educational Practices in Charter Schools