Report Profiles, Compares For-Profit and Nonprofit Education Management Organizations Nationwide

News Details

January 11, 2012
Charter Management Organizations, Charter School Profiles, Research and Evaluation, Understanding Charter Schools

A January 2012 report from the National Education Policy Center and Western Michigan University states that 35 percent of all charter schools in the United States are operated by private education management organizations (EMOs), accounting for about 42 percent of all charter school enrollment.

Profiles of For-Profit and Nonprofit Education Management Organizations: Thirteenth Annual Report – 2010-2011 describes the national EMO landscape and includes state breakdowns, profiles of companies, and student performance data.

The report states that a higher percentage of schools operated by nonprofit EMOs made adequate yearly progress (AYP) than those operated by for-profit EMOs, with medium-sized (4-9 schools) nonprofit EMOs and small (1-3 schools) for-profit EMOs showing the highest percentage for making AYP. The report calls AYP, the student performance accountability system established under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act known as No Child Left Behind, a “crude indicator of the extent to which schools are meeting state standards.”

The number of nonprofit EMOs has gone from 46 in 1999 to 197 in 2011, with total student enrollment going from 20,133 to 384,067 and the number of states where they operate going from 10 to 28, according to the report. About 56 percent of the schools made AYP.

The number of for-profit EMOs has gone from 33 in 1999 to 99 in 2011, with total student enrollment going from 70,743 to 394,096 and the number of states where they operate going from 16 to 33, according to the report. About 48 percent of the schools made AYP.

The number of students enrolled in EMO-operated virtual schools has gone from 11,500 in 2003-04 to nearly 115,000 in 2010-2011, according to the report. Virtual schools comprise about 10 percent of all schools managed by for-profit EMOs and about 1 percent of schools managed by nonprofit EMOs.

Profiles are provided in the report for 99 for-profit and 197 nonprofit EMOs.