Jersey Jazzman, aka Mark Weber, is a teacher in New Jersey who took the time to earn a Ph.D. So he could decipher the studies and research usedto make decisions about schools.
In this post, he explains to the media how to cover charter schools.
He noticed that Senator Bernie Sanders’ proposal to ban for-profit charter schools unleashed a wave of commentary about charter schools. Many people have no idea what they are. They don’t know that they are privately managed but publicly funded and that most charter schools operate with little or no oversight. It’s a sweet deal to get public money with no one checking the books.
He writes:
I can’t say I’m surprised, but it looks like Bernie Sanders’ latest policy speech on education – where, among other things, he calls for a ban on for-profit charter schools and other charter school reforms — has generated a lot of fair to poor journalism that purports to explain what charters are and how they perform.
Predictably, the worst of the bunch is from Jon Chait, who cheerleads for charters often without adhering to basic standards of transparency. Chait’s latest piece is so overblown that even a casual reader with no background in charter schools will recognize it for the screed that it is, so I won’t waste time rebutting it.
There are, however, plenty of other pieces about Sanders’ proposals that take a much more measured tone… and yet still get some charter school basics wrong. I’m going to hold off on citing specific examples and instead hope (against hope) that maybe I can get through to some of the journalists who want to get the story of charters right.
The first warning is not to accept the claims that CREDO makes, especially not its assertion that it can measure “days of learning.” It can’t.
Second point, don’t accept the assertion that “charter schools are public schools.” They get public money but bot everything that gets public money is “public.” Like Harvard and Boeing.
Third point, do charter schools strip funding from public schools? JJ is not sure but Gordon Lafer is. See his study here on the fiscal drain that charters impose on public school.
4) The “best” charter sectors get their gains through increased resources, peer effects, and a test prep curriculum — and not through “charteriness.”
Read the rest for yourself. JJ is always worth reading.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
One thing I learned in Statistics class is that you can manipulate the numbers to say whatever you want to say. The validity of result depends on many factors, most of which are not readily apparent unless you view the actual study. Kudos to Jersey Jazzman for delving into this and sharing!
By taking a closer look at many of the claims presented by lazy education writers, Jersey Jazzman provides some insights into how they arrived at their false conclusions. He does it through evidence and facts.
I am pleased that Bernie’s bold plan is forcing more people to face the stark realities and unfairness of privatization, including the Democratic party. It is the Democratic candidates that must be forced to comment on Bernie’s education agenda. This should be a main objective of real journalists going forward.
“The “best” charter sectors get their gains through increased resources, peer effects, and a test prep curriculum — and not through “charteriness.”
This is how Weber demystifies the “success” of some selective charters. There is no secret sauce, only hard work and time on task. If you believe you improve education by a narrowed curriculum of reading and math, then you are ready to work at a selective charter. If you believe that all students must learn to read, write, and reason in a wide array and depth of content across genres, then you should invest in and work to create quality, well resourced public schools. If you believe that the peer effect is real, then you should encourage schools to be integrated as it is a powerful tool against the ravages of poverty. There is no other organization or institution that can replace a quality public school and can do it on the same scale with the same level of stability and efficiency as traditional public schools. They are our past, and they must be our future.
Jersey Jazz man. Big thanks for this:
The first warning is not to accept the claims that CREDO makes, especially not its assertion that it can measure “days of learning.” It can’t.
That is one of the most absurd claims in the CREDO collection of fictions.