Injecting Successful Charter School Strategies into Traditional Public Schools: A Field Experiment in Houston

85 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 2011 Last revised: 21 Apr 2023

See all articles by Roland G. Fryer

Roland G. Fryer

Harvard University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); American Bar Foundation; University of Chicago

Date Written: October 2011

Abstract

We implemented five strategies gleaned from practices in achievement-increasing charter schools - increased instructional time, a more rigorous approach to building human capital of teachers and administrators, high-dosage tutoring, frequent use of data to inform instruction, and a culture of high expectations - in twenty of the lowest performing schools in Houston, Texas. We show that the average impact of these changes on student achievement is 0.206 standard deviations in math and 0.043 standard deviations in reading, per year, which is comparable to reported impacts of attending high-performing charter schools. This suggests that the best practices of charter schools may be general lessons about the education production function.

Suggested Citation

Fryer, Roland G., Injecting Successful Charter School Strategies into Traditional Public Schools: A Field Experiment in Houston (October 2011). NBER Working Paper No. w17494, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1940339

Roland G. Fryer (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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American Bar Foundation

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University of Chicago ( email )

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Chicago, IL 60637
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