One of the benefits of school choice is that it allows students with varying needs and backgrounds to choose which schooling model helps them achieve the best educational outcomes. An extensive literature on charter schools, one of the most visible alternatives to traditional public schools, has found that charters with certain characteristics and policies tend to have positive results. Most of this literature focuses on non-profit schools, but a recent study finds that the advantages of charters extend to for-profit schools. 

In their recent paper, University of Michigan economists Susan Dynarksi, Daniel Hubbard, Brian Jacob, and Silvia Robles estimate the educational impact of one of the largest for-profit charter school networks in the country, National Heritage Academy (NHA), which enrolls over 50,000 students in 9 states. Using randomized lottery admissions at NHA schools in Michigan, they find that attending a NHA charter school for one year is associated with an increase in math achievement and positive—though not statistically significant—impacts on other outcomes.

Also of note, the authors find that non-poor, non-urban students benefited the most from one year at NHA. Most of the prior literature has found the opposite, that low-income, urban students receive a larger share of the benefits. And similar to results for non-profit charters, the authors find that certain key characteristics—such as a “No excuses” culture, providing extra time for core subjects, and frequent diagnostic assessments—are what seem to drive the positive results.

The study is the first evidence on the impact of for-profit charter schools, and it indicates that for-profits can provide similar advantages as non-profits. As non-profit and for-profit charters expand, these benefits will continue to offer different types of students the best opportunities for academic success.

Written with research assistance from David Kemp.