Another benefit of charter schools

The University Herald reports:

Low-income minority adolescents enrolled in California’s high-performing public charter high schools are less likely to engage in risky health behaviors, according to a new study by the University of California – Los Angeles.

Researchers said that these adolescents also scored better on Math and English tests as compared to their peers from other schools.

Previous studies have highlighted the link between health and K-12 education. But, the new study is the first to examine the impact of quality education on high school students’ risky health behaviors.

“These students’ higher cognitive skills may lead them to better health literacy and decision-making. They may be exposed to less negative peer pressure, and the school environment may promote the resilience that steers them away from these risky behaviors,” Dr. Mitchell Wong, the study’s lead investigator and a professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research, said in a statement.

“In addition, in a better academic environment students spent more time studying, leaving them less time to engage in risky behaviors.”

For the study, researchers categorised “Risky behavior” as any use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana within the past 30 days.

One can see that these charter schools are so evil that we can’t even afford to trial five of them in NZ. Labour has declared they must be wiped out if Labour win the election.