Public Charter School Board Delays Implementation of Charter School Evaluation
Contact: Audrey Williams 202-328-2748
[email protected]
[email protected]
Washington, D.C. — The D.C. Public Charter School Board (“PCSB” or “Board”) voted at its October 18th meeting to delay by one year the full implementation of the performance management framework (PMF), the PCSB’s evaluation tool for assessing and monitoring charter school operations and performance. The Board agreed to use the 2009-2010 data collected to pilot the PMF for the current school year, and to perform a thorough review of the process and verify the accuracy of the data. The data from the 2010-2011 school year will be used for the full implementation of the PMF, and those results will be released in the fall of 2011.
Charter school leaders met with the Board last week and asked that the implementation of the PMF be delayed because of concerns regarding data accuracy and reporting requirements. The Board acknowledged the schools’ concerns and pledged to work collaboratively to resolve them. “We want to make sure that the data is absolutely accurate, that our analysis is sound, and that we’ve had a thorough review of the framework,” said Board Chair Brian Jones. “We intend to be deliberative in our approach working cooperatively with our school partners, to ensure our data reporting is fair and accurate. The PMF is a ground-breaking accountability tool and as the first charter authorizer in the country to use this type of evaluation, it’s in the charter community’s interest to make sure we get it right the first time,” Jones said.
The PMF is based on a standard set of measures for each public charter school that allows the PCSB to hold schools accountable for student achievement. The evaluation is divided into the academic elements directly related to student outcomes and non-academic elements, which includes finance, governance, and compliance.
The PMF is based on a standard set of measures for each public charter school that allows the PCSB to hold schools accountable for student achievement. The evaluation is divided into the academic elements directly related to student outcomes and non-academic elements, which includes finance, governance, and compliance.
The D.C. Public Charter School Board currently oversees 52 public charter schools on 94 campuses serving more than 29,000 students living in every ward of the city. Public charter schools now serve approximately 39% of all public school students in Washington, DC. Learn more about PCSB at www.dcpubliccharter.com.