Charter schools: More bang for the buck

As states around the nation wring their collective hands over the cost of education, a little study by the University of Arkansas might shed a little light on an otherwise difficult situation.

Charter schools are more efficient, the university found, than ordinary public schools, “producing notably better test scores for each dollar spent.”

State legislator who control education purse strings should take note.

— In math, the study found, for every additional $1,000 per pupil invested by schools, charters increased NEAP scores by 17 more points than non-charters. In reading it was 16 points higher for charters.

— A child with one-year of charter school experience has an improved return on investment of about 2 percent over public schooling. A child that spends six years in a charter has a return on investment of nearly 20 percent.

Want more bang for the buck in education? If this study is right, best to think charter schools.