Record enrollment underscores growing demand for high-quality public education options
Phoenix (April 9, 2019) – Arizona’s public charter schools have reached a significant milestone with enrollment surpassing 200,000 students for the first time since charters opened 25 years ago.
Public charter school enrollment increased by 6 percent from 2017-18 to 2018-19, with charter students now comprising 18 percent of Arizona’s public school population. This growth continues a trend of charter enrollment that has doubled in the last decade. There are now charter schools in every legislative district and, in some cities, charter school students make up about half of public school enrollment. Additionally, Arizona’s public charter schools serve a majority-minority student population, with 56 percent of Arizona charter students identifying in racial and ethnic groups other than white. This is consistent with statewide enrollment trends.
In addition to experiencing record enrollment, Arizona’s public charter schools are raising the bar when it comes to student achievement. For example, AzMERIT results show public charter school students scored better than the state average in nearly every grade level and subject area from 2015 to 2018. Nearly 70 percent of Arizona charter schools that received a letter grade received either an ‘A’ or B’ grade in 2017-18. Charter students also boasted larger National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) gains than any state from 2009-2017, with charter students outperforming district and private school peers in every grade level and on every subject level tested.
Furthermore, district students who transferred to charters did so with below average AzMERIT scores while charter students who moved to districts received higher than average test scores.
“It’s no accident that charter school enrollment in Arizona has doubled over the last decade, and today stands at a record high,” said Jake Logan, President and CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association. “Families demand high-quality education options for their children. And for 25 years, Arizona’s public charter schools have delivered.”
For media inquiries, please contact Jamar Younger, jamar@azcharters.org or 602-802-5516.
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About the Arizona Charter Schools Association
The Arizona Charter Schools Association is a nonprofit organization that advocates and strengthens the autonomy, equity, and quality of Arizona’s diverse public charter schools. As a national leader in the public charter school movement, Arizona’s 556 charter schools serve almost 200,000 students in the 2018-19 school year. Academically, Arizona charter schools continue to produce excellent results. For the last four years, public charter students outperformed the state average on the AzMERIT assessment. In fact, if Arizona’s public charter students were separated and measured as their own state, it would rank among a handful of the top-performing states in the entire country on the Nation’s Report Card. For more information, visit www.azcharters.org or call 602.944.0644.
