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When Stanford University鈥檚 nationally recognized Center for Research on Education Outcomes conducted of charter school performance in 2023, one data point was perhaps most striking: Across dozens of states, the charter schools that gave students the biggest academic edge compared with their counterparts in traditional public schools were located in Rhode Island.

Seldom listed among the nation鈥檚 top K鈥�12 performers or its most aggressive reformers, the Ocean State was nevertheless home to a relatively powerful school choice sector. According to the study, students at Rhode Island charters gained the equivalent of 90 extra days of learning in English, and 88 extra days in math, per year.

With the U.S. still groping its way back from massive pandemic-related learning loss, the New England-specific finding generated little focused attention either locally or nationally. But in October, CREDO released that suggests the impressive results may be rooted in the state鈥檚 approach to opening and evaluating charters.

Rhode Island鈥檚 charter regulations are 鈥渋nstrumental in driving鈥� student success, CREDO argues, pointing to a 2017 overhaul of accountability procedures that simplified the conditions for schools to be rated and renewed. According to interviews with over a dozen key figures from the charter world, the Rhode Island Department of Education, and the governor鈥檚 office, the change in law improved relationships between schools and state authorities and reduced uncertainty in how schools were assessed.

鈥淭here has been a change from chaotic beginnings to more structured, standardized practices,鈥� said Marzena Sasnal, the lead author of the report and a senior research associate at Stanford. 鈥淧articipants see this as an improvement.鈥�

There has been a change from chaotic beginnings to more structured, standardized practices.

Marzena Sasnal, Stanford University

Yet the local debate around school choice remains fractious, with charters often seen as competing with districts for students and education funding. Within the last few years, lawmakers considered enacting a moratorium on further charter growth, while leaders of the state鈥檚 largest district skeptical of charter expansion.

Justine Oliva, the director of research and policy at the nonpartisan , called the matter of charter schools in the state 鈥渃ontentious,鈥� particularly given in K鈥�12 enrollment since the disruptions of COVID-19.

鈥淲ith declining enrollment, I do think it’s likely that the issue continues to be a live one, particularly with the proposal for new charters moving forward.鈥�

Charter leaders 鈥榠n the dark鈥�

Rather than directly addressing the often-frayed politics of school choice, or even the inner workings of charters themselves, the CREDO report focuses on the more technical subject of charter school authorization 鈥� the process by which new schools are approved, kept open, or, if necessary, shuttered completely.

The state, which legalized charter schools in 1995, established a formal framework for evaluating them 15 years later. But according to the educators and bureaucrats who spoke with Sasnal, the flaws in that review mechanism led to low trust on both sides and a degree of unpredictability when the time came to decide whether schools would be allowed to continue operating. 

The criteria for renewal were so ambiguous and complicated.

Macke Raymond, Stanford University

With renewal decisions spaced at intervals of five years, charter leaders told CREDO they often felt as though they were acting 鈥渋n the dark,鈥� without receiving timely feedback on their academic performance or organizational health. Even annual data from standardized tests didn鈥檛 give a clear picture of how schools would be judged, some complained.

鈥淭he criteria for renewal were so ambiguous and complicated,鈥� said Macke Raymond, CREDO鈥檚 director and a co-author of the report. 鈥淚t didn’t even matter what your state test scores were because you didn’t know what the authorizer’s standards of evaluation were going to be when you came up for renewal.鈥�

The atmosphere was clouded further by political and legal pressure that sometimes developed when regulators made their decisions. When Blackstone Valley Prep, one of the top-performing charter organizations in the state, was greenlit for renewal in 2011, several members of the Rhode Island Board of Education with connections to teachers鈥� unions . A few years later, three districts the opening of a new school, alleging that community opposition to the move had been ignored.

Following the 2017 reforms to the performance review system, however, CREDO鈥檚 interview subjects agreed that the steps to approval and renewal are more legible both to schools and community members. Charter applications are published online, and in communities from which students would likely be drawn. School officials said they had a clearer understanding of the outcomes they would be held responsible for, including both academic performance as well as financial and managerial indicators. One leader said his charter school had been able to identify problem areas early and 鈥減ut in place a corrective action plan.鈥�

Kenneth Wong, a professor of education policy at Brown University, said the updated framework played 鈥渁 key role鈥� in stoking improvement in the state charter sector.

鈥淭he review system integrates national standards, such as standards established by the , to sharpen the focus on performance-based accountability, data transparency, and quality monitoring.鈥�

Tensions remain

Still, whatever tensions have been alleviated by the revamped system of charter regulations have not dissipated completely.

Elections last year in Providence 鈥� by far the largest city and school district in the state 鈥� elevated three candidates endorsed by local teachers鈥� unions to the newly re-established school board; just one charter advocate won election. This summer, the city council appeared poised to permit the Excel Academy charter organization to obtain a lease on a shuttered district school, in the face of public outcry. It was the second year in a row that a version of the deal, brokered by Providence鈥檚 mayor, .

The back-and-forth follows a legislative push for a statewide moratorium on new charter growth that stalled in 2021. The state鈥檚 governor, Democrat Dan McKee, is a noted supporter of school choice currently seeking reelection. But , and the future direction of policy in the state is unclear. 

Representatives from both of Rhode Island鈥檚 major teachers鈥� unions declined to comment for this story.

Total charter enrollment in the state is comparatively high, with roughly 10 percent of all K鈥�12 students attending a charter school. Even beyond that figure, however, much of the demand from families is unmet: Nearly 30,000 students submitted applications for in the 2023鈥�24 school year. 

Our largest charters have outcomes that outperform the sending districts, as does the charter sector overall.

Justine Olivia, Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council

RIPEC鈥檚 Justine Oliva, pointing to on overall charter enrollment and performance in Rhode Island, called the schools 鈥渁 bright spot鈥� in the state education mix, overwhelmingly attracting students from disadvantaged communities and delivering significantly better academic results than the school districts they would otherwise attend. Children attending Achievement First charters 鈥� currently enrolling over 20 percent of all charter students in the state 鈥� were twice as likely to score proficient on state reading exams, and three times as likely on math exams, as those in their sending districts. 

鈥淣ot all charters have great outcomes,鈥� Oliva said. 鈥淭hey may still have a lot more applicants than get in, but they don’t all have great outcomes. However, our largest charters have outcomes that outperform the sending districts, as does the charter sector overall.” 

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