Stanford University’s School of Education has a distinguished faculty, and its alumni are outstanding teachers, principals and nonprofit leaders.

But this week it acquired a dubious distinction – and a bit of a comeuppance. Stanford New School, the combined charter K-8 and high school that the graduate school of education operates in East Palo Alto, was designated among the 5 percent of persistently lowest performing schools in California. It is one of 188 schools, including eight charter schools, that face  restructuring – or closure.

The latter, in fact, is the working assumption of the State Board of Education for failing charters that make the list, although it isn’t required under the new state law designating the worst performers. And Dean Deborah Stipek says her charter has no intention of shutting down.

With the Obama administration pushing conversion to a charter school as an option for  failing schools, it’s become all the more important to confront what to do with  failing charters. Very few have had their charters revoked and their doors closed. Their low scores have dragged down the average and hurt the reputation of the state’s 800 plus charter schools.

But two days of hearings before the state Board of Education also revealed that,  because of  problematic methodology, at least some of 188 schools shouldn’t have been made the list, including perhaps some of the charters.

At least a couple of them were startup charters with few years of data, including, Stipek said, her school. Stanford has run the East Palo Alto Academy High School  since 2004 but three years ago added an elementary school. It’s been a learning experience, with only two years of low test scores to show.

High graduation rate, low test scores

Stipek said that 90 percent of the high school graduates, nearly all  Hispanic and African-American, get into two or four-year colleges. The annual exhibitions of students’ work, which take weeks  to research, present and defend before outside evaluators, more than anything else prepare students for college and beyond.

That’s no doubt true and offers further evidence for richer measures for determining a school’s success. But at the same time, the school’s scores on California Standardized Tests – and objective and universal measure on which to hold it and all schools accountable – are bad. In most subjects, including history, geometry and English language arts, few students test proficient; in some subjects, the majority are below basic or far below basic. The school’s API score of 605, well below the state target of 800, has leveled off.

Schools on the failing schools list have a choice of four strong interventions: close down, fire the principal and at least half of the staff, convert to a charter and undertake a range of changes, known as a transformation strategy, including replacing the principal.

The graduate school of education certainly has the talent and the resouces to run an effective school.  Closing would mean sending students back to the Ravenswood District in East Palo Algo, a troubled district facing state sanctions with a batch of failing schools – an unpalatable option for charter families. Bringing in a proven effective charter operator is an option, but not one Stanford is considering. Stipek said that the school has already replaced a principal and will choose the transformation option. Under state law, the charter school has the right to choose it; it can’t be imposed by the charter authorizer – Ravenswood.

The State Board of Education has indicated it will propose regulations on revoking charters of poorly performing schools. The California Charter Schools Association will sponsor a bill this session to do the same. Colin Miller, vice president of policy, said that one provision will require any charter on the list of lowest performing schools to go before the State Board to justify its continued operation.

Stipek said that one reason for starting the charter was to offer faculty and future education leaders on-the-ground exposure to the challenges facing public schools. Running the school is doing that, she said.

A field trip to Sacramento, with a hearing before the State Board –  the school’s existence on the line – would add to that experience.

By John Fensterwald on March 12th, 2010