No Excuses Charter Schools and Racial Achievement Gaps: Predicting the Effects of Charter Expansion

Christopher Walters

A recent series of studies examining charter schools operating in urban areas suggests that charters associated with the "No Excuses" instructional approach have dramatic effects on student achievement. Since these schools serve mostly poor, minority students, they may be a promising means for reducing "achievement gaps" between racial groups. My dissertation will analyze the effects of No Excuses charter schools in Boston, Massachusetts on the achievement gap between the test scores of white and black students. Using instrumental variables methods based on entrance lotteries, I will compare the effects of attending these schools for black and white applicants. I will then use a semiparametric model of selection into charter application and attendance to predict effects for students who do not apply or attend. The results will used to simulate the effects of realistic policy changes on racial achievement gaps in Boston.

About Christopher Walters

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