Access Type

Open Access Dissertation

Date of Award

January 2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Educational Leadership and Policy

First Advisor

Benjamin Pogodzinksi

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the efficiency between charter schools and traditional public schools in Michigan. 1,628 schools, both charter and traditional public schools were examined in the study. Archived 4th grade MEAP reading and math assessment data was examined. In addition, financial data was examined for all of the schools.

Regression analysis utilizing SPSS was employed with MEAP reading and math scores as the dependent variable and the following independent variables: enrollment economically disadvantages students, percentage of white students, percentage of male students, average total instructional expenditures, and charter schools.

The results of the descriptive statistics indicated that there was a significant difference in student achievement and academic proficiency between charter and traditional public schools. Charter schools students, on average, performed worse on the MEAP math and reading assessment than their TPS counterparts. Additionally, schools that had a large percentage of economically disadvantaged students and male students performed worse than schools that did not have a large percentage of these types of students. White students performed better than non-white students in both charter and traditional public schools. The study suggests that charter schools, on average, perform worse in student achievement than traditional public schools in Michigan.

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