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

Public Charter Schools Program - 2004

CFDA Number: 84.282 - Charter Schools


Goal 8: 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   42
2003   43
2004   44


Explanation: Several States will be considering legislation this year.   		Additional Source Information: State Educational Agencies (SEA); state legislatures.

Frequency: Annually.
Collection Period: 2002
Data Available: January 2003
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   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: 2002
Data Available: January 2003
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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