Charter-School Management Organizations: Diverse Strategies and Diverse Student Impacts

Abstract

A new longitudinal national study of the practices and effectiveness of charter-school management organizations (CMOs) reveals a wide range of organizational models and educational strategies, with achievement effects that are more often positive than negative but vary substantially among CMOs. The study identifies key CMO practices that correlate with positive effects and raises important questions for future research. The study finds that high-performing CMOs tend to emphasize school-wide behavior policies and intensive teacher coaching.