THE STORIES BEHIND THE STATISTICS: - Why a Report on “Large Achievement Gains” in Charter Schools Harms New Orleans’ Black Students

Oct 15, 2026

A critical analysis examines claims in a Tulane University Education Research Alliance (ERA) policy brief, arguing that “large achievement gains” in New Orleans’ all-charter district is supported by data and methods that distort the improvement narrative. The paper scrutinizes shifting state performance metrics, allegations of grade-fixing and mismanagement, and limited charter oversight. It also compares school climate to a pre-Katrina public school and highlights troubling experiences of black students through original qualitative testimony from students and parents.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages48

Reading Time2 h 1 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

THE STORIES BEHIND THE STATISTICS:

Why a Report on “Large Achievement Gains” in Charter Schools Harms New Orleans’ Black Students

Kristen Buras, Ph.D. (Author Profile)

Acknowledgements

PREFACE FOR THE 20-YEAR MEMORIAL OF HURRICANE KATRINA, Tulane University’s Education Research Alliance (ERA) for New Orleans widely disseminated a policy briefentitled The New Orleans Post-Katrina School Reforms: 20 Years of Lessons, which lauded“large gains in achievement” in the city’s all-charter school district. This critique offers an in-depth analysis of this claim by closely examining data in the brief and situating it in a wider context, including evidence that not only complicates the narrative of improvement but also questions the integrity of the data that researchers relied upon, the ways they leveraged it, the conclusions they reached, and the narrow metrics utilized. Additionally, ERA’s funding by private philanthropies engaged in charter school advocacy is examined alongside its expressed principle of objectivity in research. Regarding charter school performance data in New Orleans, this paper questions ERA’s brief in several areas. First, it examines how the state has continuously altered the school performance metric to advantage charter schools and contrive “success” in New Orleans. Second, it raises questions regarding the integrity of the data analyzed by ERA researchers based on allegations, lawsuits, and violations involving grade-fixing and mismanagement in the New Orleans charter school sector. Third, it flags concerns about the performance data by highlighting the lack of charter school accountability and oversight by the state. Finally, the paper turns to the brief’s student surveys on teaching quality and charter school climate, revealing that the experiences of black students at the school level are more troubling than ERA suggests. To illuminate problems, original qualitative data, including firsthand testimony of students and parents on their charter school experiences, are examined. This testimony reveals the inadequacies of statistical data presented in isolation from the lived realities of day-to-day life in New Orleans charter schools. Their reports are alarming. To complicate the narrative of“improvement” fashioned by statisticians, the paper likewise offers a comparative analysis of school climate in a historic, pre-Katrina public school, drawing on original oral PREFACE history interviews and archival research. The differences between the climate of the historic, now-closed public school and that of current charter schools could not be more striking. Serious concerns are raised about charter students’ right to learn and a punitive culture that prioritizes discipline over students’ well-being and development. Ultimately, this critique argues that the use of data in ERA’s brief advances the interests of charter school advocates, rather than the students at the center of the reforms. ERA’s claims of objectivity do not legitimize the brief’s findings, generally produced in isolation from black communities and the experiential knowledge they possess. It is concluded that a singular focus on numbers as a measure of excellence in black education is inadequate and ignores the most significant aspects of schooling for black youth in New Orleans. In fact, the narrative of improvement falls short in demanding that black students’rights to educational equity be fully honored. THE STORIES BEHIND THE STATISTICS: Why a Report on “Large Achievement Gains” in Charter Schools Harms New Orleans’ Black Students KRISTEN BURAS, PH.D. 2025 KRISTEN BURAS is past professor of urban educational policy at Emory University and Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she worked in higher education for two decades. She is cofounder and director of the New Orleans-based Urban South Grassroots Research Collective. She is committed to antiracist work that reflects the experiences, cultures, and histories of minoritized communities, with a focus on black education in New Orleans and the US South. Buras is the author of Charter Schools, Race, and Urban Space: Where the Market Meets Grassroots R

FAQs

What is the main target of this critique?

It critiques an ERA policy brief claiming “large achievement gains” in New Orleans’ all-charter school district, questioning both the data and the conclusions drawn from it.

How does the paper challenge the performance gains narrative?

It examines how performance metrics were altered to favor charter schools, questions the integrity of data amid allegations and legal issues, and highlights weak state accountability and oversight.

What evidence does the paper use beyond statistics?

It analyzes student surveys and presents original qualitative testimony from students and parents, showing that black students’ lived experiences at the school level are more troubling than ERA suggests.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Taylor Morgan