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State-wide Evaluation of Indiana's Charter Schools

Client: Indiana Department of Education
Term: January 2004–July 2004

With the advent of charter schools in Indiana, a comprehensive evaluation of the system was warranted to examine the relationship among school characteristics, policies, practices, and outcomes. The Center evaluated the progress of Indiana’s charter schools by:

Reviewing charter school application processes of all charter school sponsors
Reviewing the purpose and organization of each charter school as defined in its charter contract
Supporting the Department staff in data collection, analysis, and research related to each charter school’s annual report
Assisting the Department staff in evaluating the use of the federal public charter school grant funds by the charter school grant recipients
Project staff will evaluate whether the state goals of the federal grant program are being met
Assisting the Department in gathering information about the efforts and outcomes of the charter schools sponsored by the universities as required under IC 20-5.5-3-12
Collecting information and making observations as to whether or not charter schools are fulfilling their statutory purposes under IC 20-5.5-2-1