Abstract 

This article compares student achievement of fourth graders in charter schools and district public schools in Newark, New Jersey. We find that Newark and New Jersey’s charter schools mirror the educational inequalities of the state as a whole, as well as its Abbott Districts. The data indicate that charter schools are similar to district urban public schools, with pockets of excellence and mediocrity. We measure school performance based on two criteria: actual test score performance, and the difference between actual and predicted performance. We find that some charter schools are able to achieve performance above predicted, given their school and student characteristics, while other schools do worse than predicted. Thus charter schools are not simply a magic bullet, but rather they warrant further investigation to see which practices work and which don’t, especially in a challenging urban setting such as Newark.

Abstract

This article studies the distribution of teacher quality measures across the New York City school system. Because teachers are paid along a fixed salary schedule and they have the option to transfer schools, this analysis measures the degree to which environmental factors affect teacher location choice. Both school-based and neighborhood-based effects are measured, and both types are significant. Furthermore, this article finds that the location of the school in relation to the suburban borders is an important determinant of teacher location choice. (JEL I29, J24, J61)