The annual standardized test scores for public schools in D.C. this year show children at the elementary level in regular public schools doing better than children in public charter schools. For the first time in three years, reading and math scores at the elementary level are higher for children in regular public schools than for their counterparts in public charter schools. Tom Nida heads the charter school board. He says before making any generalizations, and it's important to remember these results are preliminary. Nida says last year a dozen schools found errors in the data reported. Also he says last year several Catholic schools converted into charter schools and those students were taking the tests for the first time. Nida says once they get acclimated to their schools and then the "trends move upward." At the high school level, that trend is reversed with charter school students showing double digit gains over students in regular public schools. The final test scores are expected by the end of this month.
Kavitha Cardoza reports....
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