Some Public Schools Maintain High Learning Standards

For decades, academically intensive charter schools have existed quietly across the United States, yet their role in the education system has received little formal attention. These schools are defined by a clear focus on strong academic learning, setting them apart from more familiar charter models that emphasize behavior rules or social goals. A recent national study examines whether this distinctive approach leads to stronger learning outcomes, meaning how well students perform academically, especially during a period marked by widespread disruption in schooling.

Professor Robert Maranto from the University of Arkansas, together with Jamison White of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and Dr. Sean Woytek , Associate Vice President of Academics and Instruction of BASIS San Antonio Shavano, conducted the first systematic analysis of schools known as academically intensive charter schools. The researchers reviewed charter schools across the country, which are publicly funded schools that operate independently from traditional school districts, to identify campuses whose defining feature is a strong focus on challenging classroom expectations rather than a specialized subject theme or strict discipline system. The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal Education Sciences.

Dr. Woytek explained that academically intensive charter schools were founded “to enable students to excel academically as much as their abilities and efforts allow,” a mission that distinguishes them from charter schools designed mainly to help students catch up academically. According to Professor Maranto, “academically intensive charter schools unapologetically prioritize academic rigor,” referring to demanding coursework and high expectations for learning, reflecting parental demand for schools that place learning and knowledge ahead of sports, social events, or extracurricular status.

Using national datasets, which are large collections of education data gathered across the country, White’s team identified a relatively small group of academically intensive charter schools operating nationwide. Together, these schools serve a large student population and are concentrated mainly in urban and suburban communities, meaning cities and surrounding residential areas. When compared with other charter schools, academically intensive charter schools appear very similar in terms of student backgrounds, family income levels, and overall spending patterns. On average, they operate with funding levels comparable to other charter schools and clearly lower than those of traditional district schools, which are schools run directly by local education authorities, suggesting that differences in results cannot easily be explained by higher spending.

The most noticeable differences emerged when White and his team examined student learning results. By combining state test results with nationally comparable measures of student performance, which allow fair comparisons across different states, the team compared reading and mathematics outcomes across school types. Before the global pandemic, students attending academically intensive charter schools already performed better than their peers in both district schools and other charter schools across most grade levels and student groups. After the pandemic, these performance gaps became even more evident.

Professor Maranto emphasized that the results were consistent across populations, noting that “academically intensive charter schools consistently outperform other charter and district schools in literacy and mathematics across demographic groups,” meaning groups defined by income, background, or personal characteristics. This pattern held for students from lower-income households, learners still developing English language skills, and students with disabilities, as well as across racial and ethnic communities. The researchers stress that these findings describe patterns rather than direct causes, meaning they show what is happening but not exactly why, but they suggest that strong learning-focused school cultures may have helped these schools maintain progress during a period when many schools faced extended disruption.

White’s study also draws on the day-to-day experience of of Dr. Woytek as he led and oversaw multiple schools within BASIS Ed Texas. Students typically face meaningful homework expectations from an early age, and teachers are treated as content experts, meaning they have deep knowledge of the subjects they teach, rather than being closely directed in how to teach. External measures such as nationally standardized college-level exams, which are tests used across the country to assess advanced academic knowledge, play a key role in aligning expectations for students and teachers alike. White noted, “aligning student and teacher incentives makes teaching more harmonious and easier than in most American schools,” reinforcing a shared focus on learning outcomes.

Despite their strong performance, the researchers acknowledge important limits. The analysis does not include measures of student progress over time, meaning it does not track how much individual students improve year by year, and families who choose academically intensive charter schools may already place a high value on academic achievement. As White and his colleagues caution, additional research is needed to determine whether similar results could be achieved if academically focused practices were used more widely across public education.

Overall, the findings raise questions about whether placing stronger emphasis on academic learning could benefit a broader range of schools. In the wake of pandemic-related learning setbacks, the study suggests that academically focused school cultures may offer useful lessons for educators and policymakers, meaning decision-makers in education, seeking to better support motivated students. Professor Maranto, White and Dr. Woytek conclude that academically intensive charter schools show both strong academic results and financial stability, making them a model worth closer attention.

Journal Reference

Maranto R., White J., Woytek S., “An Exploratory Analysis of United States Academically Intensive Charter Schools,” Education Sciences, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15070933

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