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What’s better for your youngster? How can you compare private and
public schools when they seem so disparate? Is it like comparing apples
and oranges — two different things that can’t be fairly held to the same
standards?
As any parent who has toured both kinds of school knows, it’s not
always easy to answer these questions. Many people have a bias one
way or another. Some assume that private schools offer superior
everything, justifying their tuition costs. Others contend that public
schools provide more real-life experiences or, in some cases, more-
developed specialty programs in athletics or science.
While this primer won’t dare takes sides, it will touch on the most
fundamental differences between public and private schools — as well
as a few subtle distinctions that might make all the difference for your
child.
For parents this quickly translates into the bad news: high tuition costs
and sometimes an exhausting work calendar of parent-sponsored
fundraisers. According to the National Association of Independent
Schools, the median tuition for their member private day schools in
2008-2009 in the United States was $17,441. Tuition for boarding
schools was close to $37,017. (Of the 28,384 private schools in the
United States, about 1,050 are affiliated with the NAIS. Average tuition
for nonmember schools is substantially less: Day schools charge
$10,841 and boarding schools $23,448.)
Because not all public schools have resources for helping students with
special needs, enrolling a child with a learning disability or other
disorder may entail a more complex process. Similarly, in school
districts with “school choice” policies, the procedure for finding a
public school may require that parents enter a lottery to gain admission
for their child into their top pick. Finally, at the high school level, many
districts in larger metropolitan areas offer special schools with
competitive enrollment based on students’ GPAs or artistic portfolios.
Private schools, by their very definition, are selective. They are not
obligated to accept every child, so getting admitted may involve in-
depth applications with multiple interviews, essays, and testing.
Because private schools define the identity of their communities, they
often pick and choose between candidates based not only on their
scholastic achievement but also their ethnicity and religious background
— as well as the special attributes (or assets) of their parents.
Many states recognize the value of small classes and have provided
funding to keep class sizes small in grades K-3. As students advance to
higher grades, class size tends to get bigger in public schools, especially
in large school districts and urban schools.
While many private schools provide small classes with low student-to-
teacher ratios, there is no guarantee that such schools will keep their
class size below a certain level. Some private schools — Catholic ones,
in particular — traditionally have larger classes than public schools.
Special needs
Due to special education laws, public schools must educate all children
and provide the necessary programs to meet their special needs. This
means that all school districts have special education programs and
teachers who are trained to work with special-needs students.
Private schools do not have to accept children with special needs, and
many choose not to (although there are a small number of private
schools designed for special-needs children). As a result, most private
schools do not have special education programs or teachers trained to
work with that student population. Some private schools will try to help
all the students they admit, but extra resources may come at an
additional cost. Other private schools practice something called
“counseling out” — recommending that children with learning
disabilities look elsewhere for a school.
Public school students in fourth and eighth grade scored almost as well
or better than their private school peers in reading and math, except that
private school students excelled in eighth-grade reading.
A Harvard University study (pdf) challenged the results, using the same
data but different methods. Researchers found that private schools came
out ahead in 11 of 12 comparisons of students.
There is a perception that private schools are better than their public
counterparts because more money buys more resources which leads to
better results.
A review of the 2014 matric performance of the top public schools in the
country suggests that one does not need to break the bank to produce
excellent academic results.
As all the schools listed in this comparison – private and public – achieved
a 100% pass rate in 2014. The number of Bachelor entry passes (as a
percentage) was selected as the measure of performance.
For many private schools, the costs account for facilities, location and other
benefits (such as fewer students per class), as well as the history and
prestige associated with the schools.
The analysis does not take this into account, nor does it seek to compare
differences between IEB and NSC qualifications, the quality of teachers, or
any other factors that may affect the pricing of an institution.