Just so I have them nearby, here are links to the three reports describing the success or failure of public school alternatives over the past few years:

Vaughan Byrnes, American Journal of Education, here

Zimmer, R., Blanc, S., Gill, B. P., & Christman, J. B. (2008, Mar). Evaluating the Performance of Philadelphia’s Charter Schools. : RAND Education. (here)

The Paul Peterson piece, here.