Charter Schools: Education on Steroids?

I understand parents want the best for their children.  I understand that charter schools sometimes offer students options preferable to a public school.  They can enforce a stricter set of rules and may focus on raising test scores.  But I also understand that charter schools are ultimately harming the public's health.  In this way, they are like education on steroids.

Proponents of Charters, funded privately as well as publicly, cling tenuously to the premise that their schools are public.  

Yet, charters can screen out certain students and expel others, further contributing to segregation in society.  Truly public schools serve all segments of society, including children with special needs and children who do not speak English. 

Some charters collocate, taking vital space from public schools.

They have not been subject to the same oversight as public schools, sometimes leading to highly questionable practices.

Some charters hold protests, friendly to their own interests, but harmful to the public's, which students are required to attend during their school day.

Charters may site excellent academic performance without informing you of all the children removed from the school.  Often, they obtain test scores no better than that of public schools.  

Whereas NYC public schools cannot grade their own Regents papers due to fears of cheating, charters apparently are immune to suspicion. 

When NYS made laws against excessive test prep, they did not apply to charters--who love to site their great data--which in reality is sometimes quite lackluster.  According to the latest calculations, the Success Academy had a 56% attrition rate.  Despite the uneven playing field, Success Academy eighth-grade students failed to secure the top test scores necessary to secure seats in the City's top high schools, including Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech.   This is the strange new world of education on steroids!