Private Schools vs. Public Schools

Policymakers, parents, and other interested citizens often assume that private schools,

on the whole, are better academically than public schools. But is this empirical

assumption actually supported by evidence?

I have done a little research on this myself and found it to be untrue.  My children went to private schools and public schools and they did equally well academically.  In my opinion it depends on the teacher and the student.  The teacher’s ability to teach affectively and the student’s ability to comprehend.  It does not matter where you attend school.  I found an interesting study online which you will find below.

The study found that low-income students from urban public high schools generally did as

well academically and on long-term indicators as their peers from private high schools, once

key family background characteristics were considered. In particular, the study determined

that when family background was taken into account, the following findings emerged:

1.      Students attending independent private high schools, most types of parochial high

schools, and public high schools of choice performed no better on achievement tests

in math, reading, science, and history than their counterparts in traditional public

high schools.

2.      Students who had attended any type of private high school ended up no more likely to

attend college than their counterparts at traditional public high schools.

3.      Young adults who had attended any type of private high school ended up with no

more job satisfaction at age 26 than young adults who had attended traditional public

high schools.

4.      Young adults who had attended any type of private high school ended up no more

engaged in civic activities at age 26 than young adults who had attended traditional

public high schools.

Taken as a whole, these findings suggest that students who attend private high schools receive

neither immediate academic advantages nor longer-term advantages in attending college, finding

satisfaction in the job market, or participating in civic life.

Belfield, C. R., & Levin, H. M. (2005). Privatizing educational choice: Consequences for parents, schools and public policy. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.

Braun, H., Jenkins, F., & Grigg, W. (2006). Comparing private and public schools using hierarchical linear modeling.Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.