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