NOT HARD TO DO BETTER THAN REGULAR PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

Charters make grade, study finds (Jackie Burrell, 5/25/05, CONTRA COSTA TIMES)

California's experiment with charter schools just got a substantial boost from reports that classroom-based charters were a third more likely to meet academic improvement goals last year than traditional public schools. And the newest charter schools are posting academic gains on par with the most experienced.

Although charter school advocates have long sung the praises of these quasi-independent public schools, finding acceptance in the mainstream has proven more elusive. That may be about to change.

Researchers from the independent education policy organization EdSource just weighed in on charters' academic prowess, giving the publicly funded, independent schools a cautious thumbs up.

"Charter schools have recently started to make impressive gains," said senior policy analyst Brian Edwards, who co-authored the report released today. "The data for 2004 is definitely promising, but one year does not yet make a trend."

That may sound like faint praise, but coming from EdSource -- a widely-respected, Palo Alto-based education policy group known for its clear and impartial analyses -- it's a coup.