OCPA column: If state can’t reward education success, don’t punish it

If state can’t reward success, don’t punish it By Jonathan Small In the free market, those who provide the best products or services are usually rewarded with greater pay or profit. But in government, the opposite often occurs. Those who want Oklahoma’s educational outcomes to improve must change that dynamic. Fortunately, the State Board of Education has taken an important step towards achieving that goal. Charter schools are public schools that operate under a legal agreement with a sponsor. If the charter school fails to live up to the terms of its agreement, it can be shut down. Charter enrollment is also the result of student families’ proactive choice, while traditional school enrollment is a passive process in which students are assigned based on geography. In exchange, the charter is granted certain flexibility in how it operates. The public-school charter system has worked as hoped. Poor performers have closed, but the best schools have become islands of success. Review the state’s A-F report cards for schools in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and you’ll notice a trend. Nearly all A and B schools are charter schools. Nearly all F schools are traditional public schools. One of Oklahoma’s charter schools is even ranked among the best schools in the United States. Yet those public charter schools are serving the same basic demographic groups as their lower-performing traditional counterparts. Read more » by Jamison Faught - April 12, 2021 at 07:08PM

OCPA column: If state can’t reward education success, don’t punish it Click the title to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico