Public School vs. Private School

The birth of my son in June 2010 brought the public versus private school debate to the forefront in my family. "Where will you put Owen if you had all the money in the world?" "My son will go to a prep school so he can sing in a glee choir and wear a cute uniform!" I get a laugh or a raised eyebrow, but seriously my husband went to public school in the suburbs of Dallas and has attained a PhD in Cultural Studies at George Mason University (his blog is here), and I went to private school in Fort Worth and have attained an MEd in Social Foundations of Education at the University of Virginia.  So does the greater level of education that my husband attained mean public schools are better than private schools? And if you count all of our current friends, most went to public schools and they are doing very well and enjoy their lives. (more on this to come!)

I never realized how difficult and emotional the debate can get, although in high school my father threatened I might have to go to public school if I didn't pick up my grades and I literally broke down in tears: I feared the public school students because of the rumors I had heard about them.  Similarly for many people, public vs. private is a matter of opinion - they hear "through the grapevine" that  public schools as wastelands where children aren't taught cursive handwriting (I found out this is really important to some people) - but there isn't really a great deal of research on the subject because it is hard to quantify the results with actual data.

After reviewing scholarly articles and websites, I have found there really isn't a way to quantify data from public and private schools for many reasons; one being that private schools don't have to report their data. Also, private schools admit only who they deem fit for their school whereas public schools take any and all. Likewise, private schools also can counsel out, or "push out" students whose performance is low or whose behavior is distracting others. In my career teaching in public education, I have seen many parents move their child from private schools once they were found to have a disability because the private school warned they weren't legally required to give the student specialized services.

However, most of the qualitative data comes is from National Assessment of Educational Progress. They look at the scores of students on their 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics assessments. They also take into account the backgrounds of each student and their socio-economic status (SES). The data in 2000 indicated that public schools out-performed the private school students in mathematics, but in 2006, private schools out-performed the public schools in both areas.

My sister asked me to research the differences in social development, "how well-rounded kids are" at each. The research is just not out there. If you know of any, please send it my way.

So, as of today, here is my bare bones research round-up:

Public schools:

• Have become increasingly more segregated (Kozol 2011) especially in the urban areas
• Are seen as a common experience that unites Americans regardless of race, color, ethnicity or religion (Elizabeth from Education Bug 2011)
• Admit all students from the neighborhood who want to come to the school
• Are required to service students with disabilities, therefor other students learn the value of inclusion
• Have more resources to help with interventions and student support
• Offer programs and support for students who speak English as a second language
• Are bound by the mandates of No Child Left Behind or Race to the Top (Do well on the test or we close your school down!)

 Private schools:

• Admit who they deem fit (Gardner 2011) and counsel out who aren't conforming to the mold
• Seem to create an class of the elite
• Have more control over class size, school size and curriculum
• Have funds to create a more inviting space architecturally
• Sometimes have a more diverse teaching staff who aren't necessarily certified to teach but might be from other countries
• Are more conducive to integration (Greene, Mellow 1998) (see below)
• Help students develop critical thinking skills, which lend to better scores on SAT (SES factored in) (TIME 2007)

Overall, researchers state that their conclusions need to be viewed with caution because all schools are different. It is best to go to the school and observe a school day, talk to the teachers, the principal and find out their philosophy on education, curriculum, testing and discipline. I know I didn't answer my sister's questions so will continue my research. 

Also stay tuned to a more in depth look at Greene and Mellow's 1998 paper on integration in public and private schools. It struck a nerve...