- General and Specialized Charter Schools:
- Charter schools with general and specialized academic models have average student compositions that are relatively similar to each other and to each group’s neighboring TPSs.
- Student poverty is similar for both groups of charters and their neighboring TPSs (between 56 percent and 62 percent), and all four groups have higher rates of poor students than all TPSs (50 percent). This is largely because charters, and therefore their neighbors, are predominantly located in urban areas with relatively high poverty rates.
- Both groups of charter schools enroll higher percentages of black and proficient students and lower percentages of poor, special education, and LEP students than their neighboring TPSs. Because charters and their neighbors are from the same vicinities, these differences cannot be attributed to their location.
- Arts Charter Schools
- TPSs that neighbor arts charters have more poor and black students and somewhat fewer white and proficient students than neighbors of all specialized charter schools (Table 2). Arts charters serve far more white students and fewer poor, Hispanic, and LEP students than their neighboring TPSs. Arts charters also have much lower suspension rates and far higher proficiency rates.
- Classical Charter Schools
- Classical charter schools are located in areas with more advantaged students.
- On average, their neighboring TPSs enroll fewer poor and black students, more white students, and more proficient students than all specialized charter schools.
- Classical charters differ even further from their neighbors, having far more white and proficient students and many fewer poor, Hispanic, special education, and LEP students.
- Compared to their neigh- boring TPSs, roughly one in three classical charters has substantially fewer poor, Hispanic, and LEP students, and one in five has substantially fewer special education students.
- Credit Recovery Charter Schools
- Credit-recovery charters serve more poor, black, Hispanic, and special education students and fewer white students. Not surprisingly, they have much higher suspension rates and lower proficiency rates.
- International Charter Schools
- International charter schools are located in areas with higher poverty, fewer white students, and more Hispanic and LEP students compared to all specialized charter schools (Table 5). International charters have fewer poor, black, and special education students and more Hispanic, LEP, and proficient students than their neighboring TPSs.
- No Excuses Charter Schools
- Compared to neighbors of all specialized charters, those of no-excuses charters serve more poor, black, and His- panic students; have higher suspension rates; serve fewer white students; and have far lower proficiency rates.
- No-excuses charters stand apart from their neighbors in these same areas, having more poor and black students and fewer white, special education, and LEP students.
- Progressive Charter Schools
- Progressive charter schools, which make up the largest percentage of specialized charter schools of any model, are located in areas with higher percentages of black and proficient students and lower percentages of white students.
- Progressive charter schools differ markedly from their neighbors in serving fewer poor, Hispanic, and LEP students and more white and proficient students.
- These patterns suggest that progressive charters generally serve fewer historically dis- advantaged students than their neighboring TPSs do.
- Single-Sex Charter Schools
- Single-sex charter schools and their neighbors have higher proportions of poor and black students and lower proportions of white, Hispanic, and proficient students compared to all specialized charter schools.
- Compared to their neighbors, the most prominent differences for single-sex charter schools are their higher average percentage of black students and lower percentage of white students. Single-sex charters also serve relatively fewer special education and LEP students, and they also have substantially higher proficiency rates than their neighbors.STEM Charter Schools
- Based on the characteristics of their neighboring TPSs, STEM charter schools are located in similar areas to all specialized charter schools.
- Compared to all TPSs neigh- boring specialized charters, STEM charters’ neighboring TPSs have slightly more black students and slightly fewer Hispanic and proficient students.
- Compared to their own neighbors, STEM charters have slightly fewer poor, Hispanic, special education, and LEP students and slightly more black students.
- Vocational Charter Schools
- Vocational charters are also similar to their neighboring TPSs, although they enroll slightly more black students and lower percentages of LEP and proficient students.