Types of Charter Schools

May 2006
This page shows the percentage of charter schools that are conversions vs. start-ups and classroom-based vs. nonclassroom-based. It also shows the percentages of charter schools with various grade level configurations for the 2003-04 school year.

Schools by type in 2005-06

Conversion schools (a regular public school that becomes a charter school)	18%
Start-up schools (a school established as a charter school)	82%
Classroom-based instruction (a traditional classroom system)	87%
Nonclassroom-based instruction (e.g., independent study, computer-based learning)	13%

School configurations in 2005-06
Although most charter schools, like most traditional schools, are configured as elementary, middle, or high schools, a substantial proportion of charters vary from this common pattern. However, when the California Department of Education (CDE) computes Academic Performance Index (API) results, it recognizes only these three configurations for all schools, including charters. The CDE generally classifies schools based on the number of grades a school has in the “core” grade spans of K–5, 7–8, and 9–12. (Sixth grade can be considered as an elementary or middle school grade.) For example, a K–8 school (the most common charter school configuration) would be considered an elementary school because it has six grades in the K–5 span and two in the 7–8 span. But if a school has grades in all three spans, it is typically classified according to the largest enrollment in a core span served. For example, a school serving all K–12 grades would be classified as a high school if most of its students were in grades 9–12. (There are exceptions to these rules. For more information, see: www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/documents/schltypedef05b.pdf.)

The pie chart below gives a more nuanced view of charter school configurations. Many charters depart from the common model by including kindergarten through 12th graders or serving a grade span that is nontraditional (e.g., grades 3–10).

Data: California Department of Education (CDE), Public Schools Directory
Charter School Division Database
EdSource 5/06

EdSource used the following criteria to determine grade configurations for charters:

• An elementary school is one in which the lowest grade served is 4 or below and the highest grade is up through 8 (Examples: K-6, K-8, 2-4, 4-8)
• A middle school is one in which the lowest grade served is 5 or above and the highest grade is up through 8. (Examples: 5-6, 6-8, 7-8)
• A high school is one in which the lowest grade served is 9 or higher and which serves at least two grades. However, a 7-12 school counts as a high school. (Examples: 9-10, 10-12, 11-12, 7-12)
• A non-traditional school is one that serves only one grade or serves grades in more than one type listed above. (Examples: K, K-9, 4-12, 1-10, 7-11, 12)
• A K-12 school serves all of grades kindergarten through 12.