Study: Indianapolis among national leaders when it comes to closing the achievement gap

A new study from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) shows that, over the last decade, the more a city has grown public charter school enrollment, the more that city has closed the gap in outcomes between all low-income students and all students statewide. For these districts with high levels of school choice, academic performance rises for both charter and district-run school students. 

Searching for the Tipping Point: Scaling Up Public School Choice Spurs Citywide Gains also found several key points about the impact of charter school growth in Indianapolis: 

• Indianapolis is one of the top three cities in the country to close achievement gaps in proficiency points between low-income students and all students statewide between the 2010-2011 and 2022-2023 school years.
• In Indianapolis, citywide student proficiency increased 11.7 points relative to all students statewide over an 11-year period, closing 34% of the gap with all Indiana students.
• In contrast to many cities across the country, the gap closure for all low-income Indianapolis students, regardless of public school type, significantly accelerated after the start of the pandemic.

National trend shows cities with more school choice make larger achievement gap reductions

The PPI study shows that in the 10 districts with the highest percentage of students enrolled in charter schools, low-income students citywide closed the gap with statewide test score averages by 25% to 40%. Additionally, when at least one-third of a city’s students are enrolled in a public charter school, outcomes improve citywide over time.

Over the last decade, public charter schools have seen steady growth across the country. According to a 2024 analysis from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, charter school enrollment has increased by nearly 400,000 students over the past five years, while district public schools have lost about 1.75 million students. In Indianapolis, Indianapolis charter school enrollment has increased by 21% over the last five years.

In an article about the report in The 74, The Mind Trust’s CEO, Brandon Brown, shares: “Large urban districts across the country that are facing massive enrollment declines should look at Indianapolis and see the collaboration to create high-quality options for families…as a way to mitigate negative impacts on enrollment. When system leaders can work together, it tends to grow enrollment, and that stands in stark contrast to a lot of school districts across the country.”

Indianapolis charter growth results in higher achievement for all low-income public school students

Nationally and locally, charter schools are the only public school type that are consistently growing enrollment. Historically, Indianapolis charter school growth has been in concert with Indianapolis Public Schools through innovation network schools, which are exclusively responsible for enrollment growth within the district. As of the 2023-2024 school year, Indianapolis charter and innovation network schools serve 59% of all public school students within IPS boundaries. 

The PPI study shows that this growth has led to better academic outcomes for all low-income students, not just those who attend charter schools. One particularly strong finding is that, contrary to most other cities, the low-income student gap closure accelerated after the pandemic, rather than flattening or increasing. 

“A lot of the evidence shows that the growth of high-quality charter schools does not come at the expense of the school district. It really tends to lift many of the outcomes for schools of all types.”
– Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust in The 74

In Indianapolis, two state-funded programs have served thousands of Hoosier students alongside the growth of high-quality charter schools. Launched in October 2022, Indiana Learns is a statewide program from the Indiana Department of Education that provides grants for reading and math tutoring for eligible Hoosier students. In the first two years of the program, more than 180,000 hours of tutoring were completed by more than 20,000 students. 

Additionally, Indy Summer Learning Labs launched in 2021 to provide a high-quality summer academic and enrichment experience for Indianapolis students. The program model of daily accelerated instruction combined with fun summer activities has produced four years of double-digit percentage point growth in math and reading. In 2024, the program was replicated to four other regions in Indianapolis that saw similar learning gains. 

The report also highlights the people who have worked in schools and are impacted by them, including Christel House Indianapolis alumna, Zicri Williams. She currently serves as the Executive Director for the Indiana Latino Expo Expo and credits the staff of Christel House with supporting her through her K-12 and college journey. In the report, Zicri shares: “I work with a ton of schools now, and they tell me about the good they hear coming out of certain schools in Indianapolis. They say, ‘These kids are having better outcomes after graduation — what are they doing?’ And they want to mimic that.”