The problem with the charter school movement is that its effectiveness is questionable. Often the charter schools attract the self-motivated or only accept certain candidates while turning others away.  So the student population of these schools is generally predisposed towards educational performance.<p>Some of the supposedly &quot;successful&quot; charter schools are run at a loss, subsidized by some outside institution or special interest.  Without that subsidy, their students would likely perform more poorly.<p>I think if you compared excellent charter schools to excellent public schools, you wouldn&#x27;t see much difference between the two.