The basic concept of charter schools is that they exercise increased autonomy in return for this accountability. They are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them, and the public that funds them. .
Charter schools do have some standards to maintain, but these standards are often very different from the standards for public schools. They are standards that are set by the founders of the schools. If this school is founded to enrich students education, standards are sometimes higher than those of the public school system, while on the other hand, if it is founded as an alternative schools, the standards are sometimes somewhat lower. .
There are many actors in the forming of a charter school. Each person plays a significant role. There is first the person interested in founding the school. This person has much work in store for them in that they have to put together all of the pieces and select the other "actors". Then there is the sponsor(s). The sponsor is responsible for the financial backing of the school as well as helping to set standards that the school will have to uphold. Finally there is the community in which the school will be built. The community is important in the aspect that it is needed to support the school, if not financially, then otherwise. .
There have been many charter schools opening in the Chicagoland area within the last several years. Many of these schools were founded in order to promote a higher level of education to students that may not have been available otherwise. It has been found though, that "Of the 11 charter schools that administered third-, fifth- or eighth-grade ISATS last February (1999), only two beat the state grade-level averages in every math and reading test." Both of these schools are downstate though. It was also found that "all seven Chicago charter schools underperformed state averages, and five scored mostly below the average for Chicago, which traditionally is lower than the state average because of Chicago's greater concentration of low-income students.
