According to the Austin American-Statesman (September 7, 2026), “Academic performance at Austin-area charter schools generally remained the same or slightly declined from 2025 to 2026 on the state’s annual A-F ratings that were released in mid-August.”
More specifically, “Of the 65 charter campuses graded across the Austin area in both years, 17% increased their scores by a letter grade, and 29% declined year over year.” That is not a slight decline.
In raw numbers, more than 25 charter schools received a “C” or lower grade: “Of 65 charters graded in 2025 and 2026, 19 received an A, 20 received a B, nine received a C, 12 received a D and five received an F. While the number of A-rated campuses decreased from 20 in 2025 to 19 this year, the number of D- and F-rated campuses increased, from nine in 2025 to 17 this year.” That is a big increase in poorly-rated schools in a one-year period.
Poor academic performance in charter schools is nothing new, it spans the entire charter school sector. It is present coast to coast. Despite endless disinformation about how great charter schools are and how they are allegedly superior to public schools, a large number consistently perform poorly on various tests in different grades. This can be seen in most cities and states. Visit the charter school database of any state education department and start digging for achievement results. You will quickly find many poor-performing charter schools. Many, sometimes most, charter schools perform worse than their public school counterparts, which are constantly being demonized and attacked.
Some charter schools “that serve children with significant disabilities, aren’t graded by the state [Texas].” This implies that such schools also have low scores that are excluded from the overall tally of charter school scores and rankings.
A main takeaway from this data is that charter schools continue to be over-hyped and portrayed as being better than public schools. It is automatically assumed that charter schools are naturally amazing. Besides poor academic performance, though, many charter schools are plagued by corruption, fraud, and scandal as well. There has always been a big chasm between charter school rhetoric and reality. Red flags dot the charter school landscape.
In related news (August 25, 2026), we learn that, “Charter school teachers in Texas were nearly seven times more likely to be uncertified as teachers working in traditional public school districts, according to KSAT Investigates’ analysis of last school year’s data from the Texas Education Agency.”
Texas Tech professor Jacob Kirksey says that, “Uncertified teachers are linked to learning loss for students.”
Schools obviously need qualified certified teachers, not unprepared teachers. Unfortunately, the number of uncertified teachers is very high in the charter school sector. Teacher quality remains a nagging problem in a large number of charter schools. This is part of the reason for the high teacher turnover rate in charter schools.
Thirty-five years after they first appeared in the country, charter schools have failed to deliver on many fronts. Disinformation about how great they are is no match for investigation and analysis of charter schools. Once you inquire into what is really happening in the charter school sector, all kinds of problems reveal themselves, proving that charter school advocates routinely over-hype these privately-operated schools.
No one should blindly accept deafening charter school disinformation designed to overwhelm, distract, and fool the public. “School choice” schemes are wrecking education, not improving it. Charter schools degrade education and harm the economy.
Working people have a duty to demand an end to school privatization and full funding of public schools governed by a public authority worthy of the name. There is no reason to tolerate poor academic performance at a private entity that receives millions of dollars in public funds from traditional public schools, all while claiming to be “public.”