RALEIGH -- The State Board of Education is putting charter schools under the microscope. They've formed a commission to study what works, and what needs improvement. The Blue Ribbon Charter School Commission met for the first time Thursday and laid out a priority list that included assessing the state of charter schools.

"The timing is right," said Michael Fedewa, chairman of the commission. "We're at the cap, the discussion is going on whether or not it's a good thing to have more charter schools, and I think the state Board wants to get out in front of this."

He said that means examining legislation concerning charter schools.

"We're going to be looking at current legislation and possibly future legislation that could be used, changed, adjusted or implemented that could make charter schools stronger," Fedewa said.

Currently state law limits the number of charter schools to 100. The chairman of the State Board of Education would like to see that changed.

"I hope we can reach a point where we won't have to worry about how many charter schools we have and get rid of the charter cap altogether," said chairman Howard Lee.

The state's charter schools have faced scrutiny recently in several reports, including one last month from the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research that concluded more than half of the state's charter schools are failing to meet expectations. Fedewa said the State Board of Education wants to give the public its own assessment of how charter schools stack up.

"I think the state Board wants to be able say to the public that charter schools are viable, if they meet a set of standards, quality standards that are across the board good for students," Fedewa said.

The charter school commission will meet throughout the fall, then submit recommendations to the State Board of Education.