Initial research found that there is an abundance of information comparing private schools and public schools with advocates for and against each.
Learning Opportunities and Curriculum
- Since private schools have more leeway in determining what classes they offer, students often have a wider range of choices in art, music, and other creative classes. Public schools tend to focus on core subjects like math and language arts to prepare students for standardized testing.
- Private school students score an average of "3.1 points higher on the ACT test" than public school students.
- The average 8th grader in a private school will score 18 points higher on a math test than a public school 8th grader.
Class Size and Demographics
- A well-known study in the realm of academia was conducted in the 1980s comparing standardized achievement test results with class size. The results showed that students in the smaller-sized class were on average three months ahead in terms of learning material.
- The average teacher-to-student ratio for a typical private school is 11.9 compared to 16.2 for public schools.
- 81% of private school students live in two-parents households compared to 65% of public school students.
Key Criteria in Determining School Quality
- The first element to consider when selecting a private school, or any school, is the academic needs of the individual student and whether a particular school can meet them.
- Additional criteria include preparation for continued education, access to technology, and teacher quality.
- Location, cost of tuition, and other expenses are also important factors to consider.
Proprietary Research
In addition to this public search, we scanned our proprietary research database of over 1 million sources and were unable to find any specific research reports that address your goals.