Research & White Papers
Key Questions for Philadelphia's Next Charter School Framework
June 2026
As Philadelphia develops its next Charter School Performance Framework through the RiSE process, several important questions remain unresolved. This series explores PCE's perspective on four key questions that will help shape how charter school performance is evaluated in Philadelphia.
#1: What should charter schools be evaluated on?
Are Philadelphia Public Charter Schools Required to Out Perform the School District of Philadelphia?
Pennsylvania's charter school law focuses on mission fulfillment, academic progress, and organizational performance. Yet charter schools are evaluated through comparisons to district averages that may not fully reflect whether a school is delivering on its charter promises. This paper examines how charter school performance should be evaluated within the RiSE framework.
Read PCE's position paper