Looks like when it comes to those much-hyped test scores, those much-hyped charter schools aren't all they're cracked up to be: The first national comparison of test scores among children in charter schools and regular public schools shows charter school students often doing worse than comparable students in regular public schools. The findings, buried in mountains of data the Education Department released without public announcement, dealt a blow to supporters of the charter school movement, including the Bush administration. The data shows fourth graders attending charter schools performing about half a year behind students in other public schools in both reading and math. Put another way, only 25 percent of the fourth graders attending charters were proficient in reading and math, against 30 percent who were proficient in reading, and 32 percent in math, at traditional public schools. As Phoebe observes Looks like we don't need to invent new models that skirt regulations and dump teachers' unions in order to improve public education.