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I think the same is true of some private schools. And private schools aren't the be-all, end-all, either. The largest provider of private education in this country is the Catholic church. Only about 20% of private schools are non-sectarian. Not that the Catholic church and others don't have good schools, but IME, the Catholic and Lutheran schools are on a par with the public schools.
Depends on the catholic school. My kids attend a catholic school with ITBS score averages entirely over the 95%. That is not on par with public schools, even in our very good district. One of the reasons we send them there despite not being catholic.
I think the same is true of some private schools. And private schools aren't the be-all, end-all, either. The largest provider of private education in this country is the Catholic church. Only about 20% of private schools are non-sectarian. Not that the Catholic church and others don't have good schools, but IME, the Catholic and Lutheran schools are on a par with the public schools.
Schools are so individual that is it nearly impossible to say that private is better or public is better.
Yes. Then why the big deal about more students at Caltech coming from private high schools? Caltech is a private school. IME, people who send their kids to private high schools often want to send them to private colleges too, so that accounts for some of the difference. The Caltech recruiters came to DH's public HS in downtown Omaha, so they must not be too biased against public schools.
Depends on the catholic school. My kids attend a catholic school with ITBS score averages entirely over the 95%. That is not on par with public schools, even in our very good district. One of the reasons we send them there despite not being catholic.
Yep. Where I used to live (and I hear it's true of where I live now) the Catholic schools are vastly better than most of the public schools.
Depends on the catholic school. My kids attend a catholic school with ITBS score averages entirely over the 95%. That is not on par with public schools, even in our very good district. One of the reasons we send them there despite not being catholic.
You are aware that Catholic and other private schools can cherry-pick their students? Some specifically say they are college prep schools. No wonder their scores on standardized tests are higher.
I thought all public schools used their own state tests these days, not the Iowa tests or the California tests? How can you make a comparison?
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 04-25-2014 at 04:27 PM..
Instead of being handed a college textbook and sent to an empty room, imagine how much you could have learned with a talented teacher and a couple dozen sharp classmates.
We are shortchanging the top students by expecting them to take their own education in hand. How does a second grader do that? Or a student who is the first one in the family headed to college, where there are no scientific journals, no books, maybe not even internet at home?
People say that they just have to learn to be bored (really, that's what you want to tell a six-year-old about school?) and to challenge themselves. Well, that isn't the point of going to school. Then they say that in junior high it will be fine because there are higher level classes. Well, by that time a number of those students have learned to hate school because of the boredom and learning nothing, so it is too late. Some families can't afford private school, too.
If just being bright or a very fast learner is different than being gifted, then there needs to be something in place for those kids, too. Why should those kids have to suffer so much just because they don't fit within a certain label? I was reading my mom's college textbooks (and understanding them) in early elementary school, but I wasn't creative. That shut me out of GATE because in my district being creative meant more than being intelligent (My sister got in purely because she's very creative, and even she admits that I should have been the one in the school.), so that meant being doomed to just sitting at my desk learning nothing all day, every day. What a great educational experience that was.
No, it isn't all about me. There are many other students who go through this, though, and it saddens me that is what people think school should be.
You are aware that Catholic and other private schools can cherry-pick their students? Some specifically say they are college prep schools. No wonder their scores on standardized tests are higher.
They're still often much better schools than public schools.
You are aware that Catholic and other private schools can cherry-pick their students? Some specifically say they are college prep schools. No wonder their scores on standardized tests are higher.
I thought all public schools used their own state tests these days, not the Iowa tests or the California tests? How can you make a comparison?
Unfortunately most catholic schools are hurting for students. Ours will take anyone and with enthusiasm. Many private and public schools throughout the us still take the ITBS test.
Eta and before you make a socio economic argument...the school my kids attend costs 5k a year, if you get a parish subsidy it's $3500. And even still 60% of the school receives financial aid. Our public district has an average annual income of around 100k.
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