U.S. Department of Education: Promoting Educational Excellence for all Americans

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

ESEA: Charter Schools Grants - 2004

CFDA Number: 84.282 - Charter Schools


Program Goal: To support the creation of a large number of high-quality charter schools and to evaluate their effects.
Objective 8.1 of 1: Encourage the development of a large number of high-quality charter schools that are free from state or local rules that inhibit flexible operation, are held accountable for enabling students to reach challenging state performance standards, and are open to all students.
Indicator 8.1.1 of 2: State legislation: The number of states that have charter school legislation.
Targets and Performance Data Assessment of Progress Sources and Data Quality
Number of states with charter school legislation (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico)
Year Actual Performance Performance Targets
1995
12
 
1996
19
 
1997
27
 
1998
31
 
1999
38
 
2000
38
40
2001
39
42
2002
40
42
2003
41
43
2004
 
44


Progress: While there has been positive growth to get to 41 States with charter schools laws, the remaining States have been reluctant to enact legislation.

Explanation: Several States considered legislation this year, but only 1enacted legislation.   		Additional Source Information: State Educational Agencies (SEA); state legislatures.

Frequency: Annually.
Collection Period: 2003 - 2004
Data Available: January 2005
Validated By: On-Site Monitoring By ED.

Limitations: There is variation in the definition of state charter school legislation.

 
Indicator 8.1.2 of 2: Charter operations: The number of charter schools in operation around the Nation.
Targets and Performance Data Assessment of Progress Sources and Data Quality
Number of charter schools in operation
Year Actual Performance Performance Targets
1995
100
 
1996
255
 
1997
428
 
1998
790
 
1999
1,100
 
2000
1,700
2,060
2001
2,110
2,667
2002
2,431
3,000
2003
2,700
3,000
2004
 
3,000


Explanation: There has been a positive trend toward meeting this objective. The number of charter schools in operation has dramatically increased from 100 in 1994 to 2,431 in 2002.   		Additional Source Information: SEAs; State legislatures.

Frequency: Annually.
Collection Period: 2003 - 2004
Data Available: January 2005
Validated By: On-Site Monitoring By ED.

Limitations: Differences in the definition of charter schools (i.e., some states count multiple sites as single charters, while others count them as multiple charters) cause variability in the counts SEAs. There is sometimes disagreement about numbers of charter schools in operation among the agencies that do the counting.

 

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