August 3, 2016 — How many students are on waitlists for charter schools this year?
The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) says 32,600 in the headline of its press release.
But DESE’s own report (linked from http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/enrollment/fy2017Waitlist.html) gives 23,601 as the number of students who applied to charter schools this year and did not get seats.
It’s clear from the report that even this figure is much higher than the actual number relevant to any discussion about the charter school ballot question, probably several thousand too high.
What’s more, DESE apparently has the data needed to tabulate the true number, but has not released it.
Rolled Over, Not Rolled Over, Partly Rolled Over
DESE’s release is headlined “State Estimates 32,600 Students Remain on Charter School Waitlists.” That’s the number news media used.
But a spreadsheet in the report gives 23,601 as the number who applied this year and didn’t get in, for both Horace Mann and Commonwealth charters. → Read More