Not any deep knowledge, but I have a relative who works with KIPP and charter school reform and policy organizations in California and parts of the south. I thought that the article is pretty encompassing of what she has said whenever we talk about charter schools, although it would be difficult to examine every detail of how they work. I know that many of them work very well-- I visited one of KIPP's schools in New Orleans a few years ago, for instance, and it seems that they have been able to find a model that encourages students to spend much more time working than students at many private schools while still enjoying the learning process. She's also complained about how the charter schools that don't perform well make the good charter schools look much worse. What do you think about it?
Don't know nearly enough about this to pass my opinion off as worth reading. There's a sense of "it can't hurt" and a simultaneous sense of "ability will out regardless." But I'm still reading everything in sight about education in America so I can have a coherent position on it.
That's great to try and be informed about it, at least. I wish that I could recommend a book or article, but I haven't read as much on our current education system as I should.