Audio Archive -- Audio recordings of EPI press conferences, seminars, and events.

Do Charter Schools Measure Up?
A national news conference call
Wednesday, March 30, 2005, Noon (EST)

A new study published by the Economic Policy Institute and Teachers College Press provides a comprehensive examination of achievement, enrollment, and accountability in charter schools.

The Charter School Dust-Up: Examining the Evidence on Enrollment and Achievement challenges many claims made by charter school proponents. For example, the book finds that charter schools do not serve a disproportionately high number of economically disadvantaged students, contrary to the claims of charter proponents. The Charter School Dust-Up, which analyzes national data and state-level studies, also shows that, based on standardized test scores, students in charter schools performed at levels that were no higher — and in some cases consistently below — those of counterparts in regular public schools.

In this Economic Policy Institute national news conference call, authors of The Charter School Dust-Up discuss the book's findings and the policy implications for schools nationwide.

Panelists:

Martin Carnoy, Professor of Education and Economics, Stanford University; Research Associate, Economic Policy Institute

Lawrence Mishel, President, Economic Policy Institute

Rebecca Jacobsen, Graduate Student of Teachers College, Columbia University; Research Associate, Economic Policy Institute

Richard Rothstein, Visiting Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University; Research Associate, Economic Policy Institute

Listen to an audio recording of the event (approx. 1 hr. 23 min.):

• streaming audio (Real Audio) 
• download MP3 (MP3) (78 MB) 

Read a transcript of this event

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