Public education in the United States is perhaps one of the most critical issues we face as a nation. After calling the United States an “at-risk nation,” the school began implementing one reform strategy after another. In an effort to improve the education of K-12 students, education reform has changed class sizes, revised graduation requirements, and created standardized tests, just to name a few. Unfortunately, traditional public schools still fail to provide students with a quality education. This is disheartening as we learn that the United States lags behind our international counterparts in math and science. It is safe to say that Education Reform has spent billions of dollars over the years in an honest effort to reform education in America; however, most reform decisions have produced little change. Among the many radical education reform strategies implemented, charter schools are perhaps one of the most important. It's been about two decades since several states opened a variety of charter schools. The best way to describe charter schools is to say that they are public schools that are independent and free from rules and regulations compared to traditional public schools. Charter schools are responsible for producing results; otherwise, they are subject to closure for non-compliance. There are more than 5,400 charter schools serving more than 1.7 million children across the country (Center for Education Reform, 2010). Currently, 40 states and the District of Columbia have charter schools with 41 laws in place, and only 13 have strong laws. In states with stricter laws, 65% show positive increases in achievement (Center for Education Reform, 2010). These states......center of paper......country could benefit from the presence of charter schools. Although traditional public schools are in trouble, they are not lost. With thousands of students on the waiting list for charter school enrollment and a thousand more who will not attend a school of their choice, there is talk of the need for charter schools. Conventional public schools must move beyond the mandates of a bureaucratic system to experience true revitalization. Maybe Andy Smarick has the right idea instead of trying to fix failing schools by closing them and starting over (2010). It may be unrealistic to believe that, with the number of failing schools across the country, we could replace them with new schools, but it is clear that something must be done to ensure a quality education for all students. In the meantime, why not give charter schools a chance to educate those they can serve?.