Newark charter schools kicking butt!

I just received the data on charter schools in Newark -- and it's AWESOME!  Of the 9 charter schools, 7 (78%) are showing AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress), whereas a mere 7 out of 41 public schools (17%) are doing so.  But that's not all!  Naysayers will of course make their usual ridiculous argument that the charter schools are doing so much better because they're creaming the best students, so my friend collected the data and here's what he found:

The remarkable statistic here is that all but one of the charter schools serve the lowest-performing demographic group in Newark: black students from the the Central, South and West Wards.  East and North Ward Whites, Portuguese, and Latinos are happier with their schools and less drawn to charters, which leaves the highest performing groups in Newark in the traditional public schools (all 7 of the AYP public schools have some sort of demographic "advantage" based on statewide percentages).  Thus, the charters in Newark actually do the OPPOSITE of what they're accused of doing -- rather than creaming, they're taking the lowest-performing students and turning them into the highest-performing single group in the city!

Three cheers for the Newark charter schools!  It'll be interesting to see what the media does with this story, but here's one thing I know for sure: if the Newark charter schools were stinking up the joint, it would be front-page news.