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My family sends our kids to private school for a large variety of reasons even though we are in a pretty good public school district. They include:
-Strong Academics--My kids' school is a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence for high academic achievement. The public schools in our area do not have this distinction. There are many extremely bright children at the school, who help set the bar high. I know they are super bright because, among other things, a number of them have been honored by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, which is a tough recognition to receive. The school offers academic options that are not available at our public school--including allowing children to take single classes at a higher grade level. i.e. some fourth graders go to a fifth grade classroom just for math.
-Family Environment-The school is smaller so nearly all the kids know each other, and the teachers know all the kids' names. This really has many benefits.
--Discipline-My kids' teachers are strict, and they instill a strong work ethic in the kids. The kids in our neighborhood seem to barely have homework, while our kids have to work pretty hard. This has its pluses and minuses, but they definitely have learned to work hard to earn their grades. In addition to this, nonsense generally is not accepted at the school. The school has the option of kicking out kids who misbehave, and it has used this option. I don't see a heck of a lot of behavior problems at the school.
--Letting kids be kids--My oldest daughter is in middle school, and it is clear to me she is a world apart in some regards compared to the kids in the neighborhood who go to public school. She doesn't know any curse words. She dresses appropriately and just does not seem to have that too worldly sassiness that I see in other kids. I have been shocked to hear sixth grade kids talk about their dating. We are not ready for that yet. It will come in time--preferably high school.
That said, we are considering public school for high school because of the greater number of options available at that age. We also moved into our district to ensure we had a good back-up plan in case we suddenly could not afford tuition (which is fortunately low at our private school compared to other private schools). Our public schools have some pluses, but I am happier with where my kids are now.
If we could afford to send our kids to private schools, we would consider it for the reason that private schools do not need to require state tests. I feel that the public schools in our area are teaching to the test too much and this might not be the case at private schools.
Private schools that want to be accredited do have to take state testing...
Private schools that want to be accredited do have to take state testing...
Not in the states where we have lived... Our kids' school is accredited, and the students do not have to take the state tests. They do take standardized tests, but they are used mainly as benchmarks to see how the kids are doing. The teachers definitely do not need to "teach to the test."
...but it is not clear to me whether the fame comes from the rigors of the curriculum and the great pedagogy or it is simply because the student body comes largely from extremely privileged families and so the expectations will be higher, without the schools necessarily putting in its dues.
This statement may very well be true. However, for some kids it can make the difference between doing well in school and doing poorly in school. One difference that I see in my area is that the culture in the private schools rewards kids that do well in school. In many private schools it is considered socially desirable to be a great student. That is not true in many public schools where the best students are considered social misfits. If you have a child that is influenced by his peers being in an environment that is more supportive of academic achievement may be a life changer for him.
There are many reasons to choose private schools (or not). An environment that is more conducive to learning is one reason to choose private schools. The best curriculum and the most suitable pedagogy will not be effective if the learning environment is not set up for learning. The thing is that every child is different and there are vast differences between schools in different areas so a blanket statement that private schools are better is impossible to make.
We have found it to be better for our kids but I do not think it is better for everyone. In my experience being with more driven peers is one of the advantages of private schools.
Here are some ways I would assess the quality of a school, speaking as an English teacher.
1. English teachers' websites
You can tell a remarkable amount about the quality of the school from the English teachers' websites. I check out all of the following:
* Spelling, grammar, usage, and mechanical errors in large numbers
Abundance of errors almost invariably indicates a general lack of professionalism, lack of subject matter mastery, or both.
* Quality of literature
Are the English teachers assigning time-tested literature written at the 9th-grade level and higher, or do their book lists look a lot more like an airport magazine rack (e.g., The Kite Runner, The Lovely Bones, The Help)?
* Types of Assessment
If this is a school with a strong English department, their assessment should reflect that. In short, it should stress writing -- writing, not silly posters and projects with glitter and glue.
I know that's a somewhat narrow answer, but I hope it helps. More generally, I would look at the following data:
* National Merit scholars as a percent of the total population
* Percentage of juniors and seniors who take one or more AP exams
* Percentage of juniors and seniors who actually PASS the AP exams
* Percentage of students who go to selective four-year universities
On that last one, I've noticed many schools dispensing potentially misinterpretable data WRT "percentage of students who go to college." I would definitely clarify how the school is defining "college." There is an appreciable difference between a school which sends large numbers of its student body to nonselective community colleges versus a school which sends its graduates to Harvard.
There is no mention of state tests being required for accreditation. There may be some accrediting agencies that do require state tests but most do not.
Here are some ways I would assess the quality of a school, speaking as an English teacher.
1. English teachers' websites
You can tell a remarkable amount about the quality of the school from the English teachers' websites. I check out all of the following:
* Spelling, grammar, usage, and mechanical errors in large numbers
Abundance of errors almost invariably indicates a general lack of professionalism, lack of subject matter mastery, or both.
* Quality of literature
Are the English teachers assigning time-tested literature written at the 9th-grade level and higher, or do their book lists look a lot more like an airport magazine rack (e.g., The Kite Runner, The Lovely Bones, The Help)?
* Types of Assessment
If this is a school with a strong English department, their assessment should reflect that. In short, it should stress writing -- writing, not silly posters and projects with glitter and glue.
I know that's a somewhat narrow answer, but I hope it helps. More generally, I would look at the following data:
* National Merit scholars as a percent of the total population
* Percentage of juniors and seniors who take one or more AP exams
* Percentage of juniors and seniors who actually PASS the AP exams
* Percentage of students who go to selective four-year universities
On that last one, I've noticed many schools dispensing potentially misinterpretable data WRT "percentage of students who go to college." I would definitely clarify how the school is defining "college." There is an appreciable difference between a school which sends large numbers of its student body to nonselective community colleges versus a school which sends its graduates to Harvard.
Yes, yes, yes - THIS. Keep talking. The more the better. Need to take notes.
Here are some ways I would assess the quality of a school, speaking as an English teacher.
1. English teachers' websites
You can tell a remarkable amount about the quality of the school from the English teachers' websites. I check out all of the following:
* Spelling, grammar, usage, and mechanical errors in large numbers
Abundance of errors almost invariably indicates a general lack of professionalism, lack of subject matter mastery, or both.
* Quality of literature
Are the English teachers assigning time-tested literature written at the 9th-grade level and higher, or do their book lists look a lot more like an airport magazine rack (e.g., The Kite Runner, The Lovely Bones, The Help)?
* Types of Assessment
If this is a school with a strong English department, their assessment should reflect that. In short, it should stress writing -- writing, not silly posters and projects with glitter and glue.
I know that's a somewhat narrow answer, but I hope it helps. More generally, I would look at the following data:
* National Merit scholars as a percent of the total population
* Percentage of juniors and seniors who take one or more AP exams
* Percentage of juniors and seniors who actually PASS the AP exams
* Percentage of students who go to selective four-year universities
On that last one, I've noticed many schools dispensing potentially misinterpretable data WRT "percentage of students who go to college." I would definitely clarify how the school is defining "college." There is an appreciable difference between a school which sends large numbers of its student body to nonselective community colleges versus a school which sends its graduates to Harvard.
I agree with what you have listed. The one item that caught my attention is, "In short, it should stress writing -- writing, not silly posters and projects with glitter and glue." Why is it that so many teachers want to assign these types of projects? I have seen these poster projects in English, social studies, science and health. It is a clear indicator to me that the time spent on these "art projects" in English classes could be better used with other activities such as reading, writing and discussion of classic literature. And the same is true of the other classes where teaching time is wasted on these activities. a sure sign of a mediocre classroom is artwork hanging on the walls of a non-art classroom, and art supplies located around the classroom. Two of my children were at opposite extremes of this type of classroom. My daughter excelled in art and would spend hours at home designing posters, which resulted in good grades but little actual learning. My son somehow managed to refuse to do these types of projects or did the bare minimum, but graduated second in his HS class and is currently in medical school.
I agree with what you have listed. The one item that caught my attention is, "In short, it should stress writing -- writing, not silly posters and projects with glitter and glue." Why is it that so many teachers want to assign these types of projects? I have seen these poster projects in English, social studies, science and health. It is a clear indicator to me that the time spent on these "art projects" in English classes could be better used with other activities such as reading, writing and discussion of classic literature. And the same is true of the other classes where teaching time is wasted on these activities. a sure sign of a mediocre classroom is artwork hanging on the walls of a non-art classroom, and art supplies located around the classroom. Two of my children were at opposite extremes of this type of classroom. My daughter excelled in art and would spend hours at home designing posters, which resulted in good grades but little actual learning. My son somehow managed to refuse to do these types of projects or did the bare minimum, but graduated second in his HS class and is currently in medical school.
While I agree some teachers can go overboard with "projects" they are a valuable skill to learn; compiling information and putting it together in an understandable presentation with visual aids is something people do quite frequently in the work force. Our schools have gone more into using powerpoints for presentations but every once in a while they have to do a posterboard of something.
In my experience being with more driven peers is one of the advantages of private schools.
This is probably the main difference, IMO. We took our kids out of public school at the end of 8th grade mainly because of this, even though we lived in a school district with a high ranking.
BTW, the students at our kids' parochial high schools were not necessarily from higher SES backgrounds than our public school. From what I could see, the difference was that 95% of the parents had their kids there for academics and they supported that. And from what the teachers said, it's obviously much easier to teach a more rigorous curriculum to students who are more receptive to learning and have fewer discipline problems.
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