Charter schools: a study of determinants of growth

As one of the latest reform movements in education, charter schools provide a complex topic for review that can be undertaken from numerous angles. This study looks at which factors determine the number of charter schools in a given state. A background review of six variables hypothesized to influence growth in numbers of charter schools includes strength of legislation, possibility of charter school management by for-profit companies, quality of traditional schools in the state, the number of years the law has been in effect, total Pre-K to 12 student population in the state, and proportion of minority students in the state. With the use of regression analysis, three of the variables were found to be significant and positively correlated to the total number of charter schools: total Pre-K to 12 student population in the state, strength of law, and number of years in effect. A reflection of how these results relate to the theoretical underpinnings of the study is included as well as suggestions for future research.