Investigating the Impacts of Management Organizations and School Characteristics on Charter School Closure in Ohio

• In Event: Charter School Operations: Finance, Governance, and Classrooms

Abstract

This study builds on previous research investigating management organizations (MOs), charter school locations, and closure by examining the effects of MO type (EMO, CMO and freestanding schools), racial enrollment, student achievement, and the community characteristics surrounding each charter school in Ohio’s Big Eight Urban Counties (OBEUC) on the likelihood of closure between 2009 and 2018. We conducted a discrete-time survival analysis using life tables and binary logistic regression. Findings indicated that freestanding charter schools experience higher risks of closure than EMO and CMO managed charter schools. Although they are more likely to close, freestanding schools have higher achievement in math and reading. Higher math proficiency reduces the likelihood of closure by 2.8%. Community and enrollment characteristics do not predict closure.

Authors

• Elizabeth Anne Gilblom, North Dakota State University

• Hilla Sang, University of Nevada - Las Vegas