The ongoing and future success of California charter schools depends on a robust, clearly defined accountability system.
CCSA is leading the way on accountability for charter schools by establishing clear and transparent academic performance expectations and providing resources to schools to foster a continuous cycle of improvement.
Here are 3 ways in which we hold charter schools accountable to high-quality standards:
- CCSA's Accountability Framework that sets Minimum Academic Accountability Criteria to measure academic performance of charter schools. CCSA's straightforward and transparent Accountability Framework provides all charter schools with tools to examine their individual performance and also helps present a clear picture of the performance continuum across the entire movement.
Our Accountability Framework is made up of two parts - an initial review of publicly available test scores and postsecondary readiness data and then, for the subset of schools underperforming on all initial criteria, a Multiple Measures Review based on public and non-public data that is tailored to a school's mission and outcomes. For more information, check out the Minimum Academic Accountability Criteria here.
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Building off the Accountability Framework, a Non-Academic Accountability Principles and Process Framework was developed in September 2018, providing guidelines on how and when CCSA will work with our Member Council to respond to issue of concern related to operations, fiscal, and governance practices in cases where authorizers are not providing oversight.
CCSA will not actively seek issues, nor review schools on an annual basis for the purpose of non-academic accountability. This process is designed to respond to the concerns that member schools or trusted partners raise with CCSA staff, or issues identified through other ongoing work.
- As charter schools come up for renewal every five years, these frameworks allows us to support high-performing schools and advocate for the non-renewal of chronically underperforming schools. We believe that a small number of chronically underperforming charter schools threatens the overall success of the broader charter school movement. Here is the latest Public Call for Non-Renewal (2019).
Are you interested in learning more about our accountability standards for charter public schools? Contact us by reaching out at communications@ccsa.org. Please remember to provide the name and location of your school in the subject line of the email.
