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Rigorous research to improve education

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Media Mention

There have been large studies on the effects of charter schools in general, some of the best produced by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University.

-Jay Matthews, Washington Post

NEWS

Designed to inform and empower decision-makers, educators, and the wider community, this Policy Brief presents key takeaways from the landmark National Charter School Study III. By distilling extensive research into succinct and actionable findings, we aim to provide you with the knowledge you need to make informed choices and shape impactful policies that drive meaningful improvements in education.

Download our Latest Brief:
The Urge to Serve

Latest Reports

CREDO conducts research-based reports on academic performance for students in public K-12 schools in selected cities, states, and school districts, while also comparing charter schools with traditional schools and online learning with brick-and-mortar settings.

National Charter School Study III

The third installment of our study examines the academic progress of students enrolled in charter schools compared with those enrolled in traditional public schools (TPS).

Houston – 2022

2022 City Studies Summary of Findings This summary highlights major findings about students’ academic performance in public K-12 schools in Houston, Texas.1 Performance is measured by one-year learning gains or growth students made from one school year to the next. Houston students’ progress is measured against the average growth of …

Newark – 2022

2022 City Studies Summary of Findings This summary highlights major findings about students’ academic performance in public K-12 schools in Newark, New Jersey. Performance is measured by one-year learning gain or growth students made from one school year to the next. We benchmark Newark students’ growth against the state average …

CREDO News

Wall Street Journal – Charter Schools: New Evidence of Student Success

Recently featured on the Wall Street Journal Excerpt:School choice is gaining momentum nationwide, and charter schools are a large part of the movement. A new study shows that these independently run public schools are blowing away their traditional school competition in student performance….

Education Week – Charter Schools Are Outperforming Traditional Public Schools: 6 Takeaways From a New Study

A new study shows that charter school students are now outpacing their peers in traditional public schools in math and reading achievement, cementing a long-term trend of positive charter school outcomes. The study is the third in a series…

The 74 – National Study of 1.8 Million Charter Students Shows Charter Pupils Outperform Peers at Traditional Public Schools

Gains amount to 16 additional days of English and 6 of math a year. But CREDO finds that sector lags in special education and virtual instruction Charter school students make more average progress in math and English than their counterparts in traditional public schools, including […]

The 74 – The Terrible Truth: Current Solutions to COVID Learning Loss Are Doomed to Fail

Raymond: Even with 5 extra years of education, only about 75% of students will be at grade level by HS graduation. And no school can offer that much…

The 74 – Study: San Antonio Charter Schools Lifted Student Achievement Prior to Pandemic

New findings on San Antonio public schools reveal that students in charter schools are in many cases outpacing their peers, both statewide and within the city — in a few cases, by as much as half of an entire school year….

Thomas B. Fordham Institute – CREDO examines charter school performance in three cities

Are charter schools helping students succeed? Many studies have contributed to answering this multidimensional question, including a recent Fordham Institute report highlighting the association between a rise in charter student enrollment share at the metro level and increases in math achievement…


Over many years of interaction with CREDO, from being an authorizer at the district leadership level to funding the development of public charter schools, I have come to appreciate and cherish the combination of strategic advice with rigorous analysis of programs and policies that Macke and her team at CREDO provide. My teams and I could always count on unvarnished, honest, thorough and objective information to inform our decisions.

Jean-Claude Brizard, President and CEO, Digital Promise

If you want a leader on high-quality research on education policy look no further than Macke Raymond and the team at CREDO. No matter what your point of view, you can be confident that the research from CREDO is rigorous and conscientious.

Robert Enlow President and CEO, EdChoice

CREDO is a key source to help policymakers and educators on the ground make difficult decisions based on sound data and research.  It serves as a viral source for improving the state of education research by driving for better, more transparent and actionable data, such that its research can continue to shine a brighter and brighter light on what is and isn’t working for students. It’s also the rare trusted source where the research doesn’t have an agenda. The team follows what the data says and presents it fairly and without varnish.

Michael B. Horn, Speaker and Author

When John Lennon said “Think globally; act locally” he must have had CREDO in mind. The CREDO team brings invaluable global knowledge, wisdom and data to the local challenges we face and the solutions we implement here in California’s great central valley. We are fortunate to call them partners and friends.

Don Shalvey, CEO, San Joaquin A+

Interested in working with CREDO?