California charter schools get "more bang for the buck" than traditional public schools and may be improving more quickly, according to a new report. Still, the charters continue to trail regular public schools in academic achievement and seem to have a tougher time teaching English to students who are learning it as a second language. Priscilla Wohlstetter, a professor of education policy and director of the Center on Educational Governance at University of Southern California and principal author of the study, says that despite the shortcomings, the report "suggests that charter schools are better able to increase student performance in a shorter period of time than non-charter public schools."