Without evidence or merit, word spread from critics that Los Angeles charter schools were not performing well academically.

Be objective. Be groundbreaking. Create the first ever report that compared how charter schools in Los Angeles Unified were doing versus the schools the students would otherwise attend.

The Larson team worked hand –in-hand with the California Charter Schools Association on the report. Findings included:

• Charter schools in LA Unified were outperforming traditional public schools on multiple student achievement measures.
• More than 7 in 10 charter schools outperformed their most similar district school on state testing.

Larson took the impressive results and helped place a high-profile story in the Los Angeles Times and more than 30 news outlets including The Wall Street Journal. The rumors were squashed.