Charter schools? My biggest question is, is it possible for public schools to do everything that charter schools do (and which are laudable)? Can a traditional public school adopt creative incentive structures for students? Can a public school allow students to choose different programs within the school with different focuses (ie, arts, math, life lessons...)? Can a public school set specific binding goals for itself in its relationship to the state? Can public schools give teachers greater autonomy? From my perspective, the answer is, to an extent, yes. And, that's generally where I have difficulty with charter schools. It may not be entirely necessary to achieve the stated goals, and there are certain significant costs: charter schools create a two-tiered system that draws the "more qualified" students (and sometimes more affable) away from public schools, leaving public schools in the dust or under-attended and under-funded.

But I do like that charter schools can offer a great testing ground for new and innovative educational programs. I'm not sure public schools can be quite as radical and unconventional. But, maybe that's a good thing that students not be the testing grounds for radical methods.

Here's our article on the topic on Debatepedia:

Debate: Charter schools