Does a Montessori model work in public schools? Ask South Carolina

Few places in the country offer a better proving ground for the efficacy of the Montessori public school model than South Carolina. With the exception of California, no other state has as many public Montessori schools as the Palmetto State. Furman’s Riley Institute has published findings in a five-year study of the model. In it, researchers found public students in Montessori-based schools on average outperformed public students in schools with other pedagogical models in English/language arts and math, and also in a separate measure of creativity. The schools using the Montessori model also had higher attendance and lower suspension rates than other public schools. Read more in an Education Week blog by Sarah D. Sparks.