In terms of oversight, NC charters are held to the same standards of accountability as traditional district schools, most notably when it comes to State test scores. The NC Office of Charter Schools - a state government entity - directly oversees all NC charter schools’ performance data, which is used to inform the NC Charter School Review Board in its duties of granting, denying, renewing or revoking charter agreements based on standardized metrics. There is also the fact that, as schools of choice, charters are held to even more stringent standards of accountability by parents, who vote with their feet.

Charter schools are legislatively granted more flexibility in areas such as curricula selection and teacher credentials, but at the end of the day they are expected to use that flexibility to innovate, not imitate; they must meet and/or exceed the acheivment standards set for all NC public schools. Failure to do so leads to reprimand and unfortunately, in persistent cases, closure. The fact that discipline or closure due to performance is a much more immediate threat to charter schools makes for higher stakes when it comes to each individual school’s accountability.