PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) announced today that he has called on the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct an investigation on the performance of Edison Schools and other for-profit education companies.

“There are troubling and glaring inconsistencies between independent studies and those commissioned by the for-profit companies themselves,” said Congressman Fattah.  “We must look at the differences between various state assessments, like the PSSA, versus Edison’s self-proclaimed success.”

Congressman Fattah, one of the top Democrats on the Appropriations Committee, has initiated a GAO review of Edison and other for-profit companies’ claims of academic achievement.

The announcement today comes on the heels of Edison-run schools’ dismal performance on the 2001 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) test.  The Lincoln-Edison Charter Academy with 60% of students below basic level in math and 70% below basic in reading is the worst performing school in York County.

“This is the savior of Philadelphia’s public schools?” asked Congressman Fattah.  “Edison’s students are performing worse in its one school in York County than Philadelphia is doing on average in its 264 schools.”

“These critics of Philadelphia’s schools are currently all running schools with lower student performances than the ones run by the District,” said Congressman Fattah.

From Sherman, TX, to Goldsboro, NC, to Pontiac, MI, there have been legitimate complaints on the failure of Edison Schools to accomplish student achievement.  Even as close as Chester, Penn-Edison Elementary performs at the bottom of the County.

Independent research has also challenged Edison’s claims of success, most notably the Western Michigan University study that showed Edison schools perform either as good or worse than public schools in the same area. 

For more information, log on to the Pennsylvania Department of Education website at: http://www.paprofiles.org/ 

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