After a brief hiatus, charter schools are back in the public eye. Our General Assembly is considering legislation to raise the cap of 100 schools, and a new study is refuting some often-cited negative press.

Since charter schools debuted on the national stage in 1992, they have generated vigorous debate. Opponents point to research suggesting that charter school students perform less well than their peers in traditional public schools (a conclusion warmly embraced by the education establishment). And supporters hail research showing that charter school students outperform traditional public school students, when such comparisons involve “general student populations.”

This past year, North Carolina charter schools entered the fray. In August 2004, a Duke study suggested that North Carolina charter school students were making smaller gains than they would have made in traditional public schools. Yet, according to a new report authored by Dr. Craig Newmark, this widely touted Duke study has significant design flaws, rendering the results invalid.

What’s a parent to think? The truth is that any study’s findings are heavily influenced by the kind of schools studied (do they serve traditional students or “at-risk” kids?) as well as research methods employed. Researchers construct studies based on the time, money and data available for analysis. Such parameters have the potential to either bias or limit a study’s conclusions.

One thing is clear, however: no one study has the ability to prove or refute the benefits of charter schools. Ultimately, parents, not researchers, determine what criteria is used to measure a school’s performance, based on the goodness of fit between a particular school and a child’s individual needs.

So, what’s a parent to do? The advice I give to parents is to become your child’s best advocate, do your own “research,” and draw your own conclusions. To that end, the Department of Education recently published Choosing a School for Your Child, a very practical resource, with workbook-style questions for parents to answer. At the Alliance, we have published a Parent’s Guide and a Policy Report, clearly explaining the facts about charter schools in our state to parents and taxpayers.

Yes, current research has done little to illumine the path for parents. But in the final analysis, parents remain the ultimate arbiters of what works best for children anyway. As such, we must work together to protect and advance educational freedom, empowering parents with the resources they need to choose well and wisely.

To learn more about charter schools, as well as the latest education news, visit the Alliance online at www.nceducationalliance.org. Check out the “Headlines” section of our home page, updated daily with articles from every major newspaper in the state. At the Alliance, we are committed to keeping you informed and empowered as we join together to improve education for the children of North Carolina.