‍Baton Rouge, La.- A 2022 study released earlier this month by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University shows that students enrolled in charter schools in Baton Rouge learn more than their peers in traditional public schools, while magnet schools continue their strong performance.

- Compared with peers in Baton Rouge public schools, charter school students received the equivalent of 24 more days of reading instruction and 43 more days of math instruction in a single school year.

- Compared with peers across the state, students in Baton Rouge charter schools received the equivalent of 8 extra days of reading instruction and 53 extra days of math instruction in a single school year.

NSBR’s CEO, Kenneth Campbell said, “We are incredibly excited about the strong charter school results that CREDO found, and we know those results are the product of a lot of hard work and dedication by students, families, and educators.” 

The Baton Rouge results were released as part of CREDO’s City Studies Project, which provides the public with periodic reports of academic performance for public K-12 schools in selected cities. The study, which is released every three years, measures academic performance by how much growth students make from one year to the next. The 2022 report utilizes data from the school 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years. 

The learning gains between Baton Rouge charter schools and traditional public schools become even more striking when analyzed by subgroups. Compared to EBR traditional schools, charter schools provide:

- 34 additional days of reading instruction and 43 additional days of math instruction for Black students.‍

- 37 additional days of reading instruction and 47 additional days of math instruction for students living in poverty.  

- 38 additional days of reading instruction and 145 additional days of math instruction for English language learners. 

There are currently more than 12,000 students enrolled in charter schools in Baton Rouge, and that number is growing annually as parents seek higher performing school opportunities for their children.

Campbell continued, “Many students come to school each year in August needing to make up significant ground academically. The fact that charter schools are giving them in some instances the equivalent of an extra month of reading and more than additional month of math provides compelling evidence that continued investment in mission-driven, autonomous charter schools with a strong track record of success, dedicated educators, and strong community partners will result in increasingly strong student outcomes. The kind of outcomes that can transform the lives of children.”

Measures of student growth such as those in the CREDO study are seen by many as a fairer method of comparison for school performance because they measure the amount of learning that children experience in a given school year, regardless of their starting point, and even if they don’t score at the proficiency level on state tests.

CREDO’s full Baton Rouge city report can be found here.

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