Charter Schools Get Less Funding but Achieve Similar Test Scores to Public Schools

Charter schools provide students with greater educational gains per dollar spent than traditional public schools (TPS). That's the finding of a new report from University of Arkansas researchers that studied public and charter schools across nine American cities. Despite receiving far less money per pupil than TPS, students in charter schools perform better and are estimated to earn more per dollar invested in their education

"Charter schools use their funding more efficiently, achieving better short- and long-term outcomes per dollar invested, relative to" traditional public schools (TPS), the study reads. "Relative to similar TPS students, charter school students, on average, perform slightly better on standardized tests, graduate high school at higher rates, enroll in college at higher rates, and have more positive behavioral outcomes."

In the nine cities studied by the researchers, public schools received an average of $29,168 per pupil in FY 2020. Charter schools received around 70 percent of that at only $20,230 per student. But despite this gap, students in charter schools performed several points higher on a national standardized test.