Private School vs Public School

[AOLiga]

Originally Posted by semiurbanite

All of the research shows that once you control for SES, private schools do not outperform public schools in any way. SO if a private school has a certain philosophy or teaching style that suits your child well, then it may make sense. But all of the research and data suggests that putting a child in private school does nothing to improve their academic success. Dont take it from me, see these studies:

NEA - Study Suggests Public Schools Outperform Private

http://www.edline.com/uploads/pdf/Pr...oolsReport.pdf

Are Private Schools Really Better? - TIME

And here is another writeup on how SES is what determines student success, not the school:
The odd correlation between SES and achievement: why haven’t more critical questions been asked? A call to action | Granted, and...

It's interesting that, according to the TIME article, Catholic schools run by holy orders out perform both public and private schools in terms of test scores.

[ToyYot]

Great links, I found this tidbit interesting:

"Worse, various attempts to study the supposed value added from schools have turned up dispiriting results. I know of one prep school that commissioned an internal study and found there to be NO GAIN over 4 years on measures of critical thinking. Colleges and researchers have found similar results using the CLA. I know for a fact (though, good luck getting the schools to report it) that some private schools have data to show that incoming SSAT scores perfectly predict SAT scores by the time the kids graduate. Another related clue: even in the most elite schools and colleges, pre-assessment and post-assessment on tests of science misconceptions (such as the FCI in Physics) show remarkably little gain."

The odd correlation between SES and achievement: why haven’t more critical questions been asked? A call to action | Granted, and...

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Private schools CAN provide more than academic success, and I think that's what a few posters do notice. If you aren't socially and culturally educated, it doesn't matter what your grades are, unless you plan to spend your time in an introverted, pay scale job. This is why most 1%ers put their kids in private. Connections, social, arts, more languages, smaller classes, strong discipline, teachers that are paid to have time to do tutorials after school, etc. Lastly,private schools have the ability to weed out and kick out any teacher,or student,swiftly that isn't performing, or causing an issue.

Most don't expect their kid to go to Harvard out of private,or even want that. And unless you are within the private school community, you won't understand that.

In the end, you can have a 4.0 from UT and end up tending bar. Is that success?
Plenty of B and C students out there that are multi and mega millionaires.
Just sayin.

Quit making so much sense! You are supposed to be one of my foils

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Quit making so much sense! You are supposed to be one of my foils

Never!!

[dosto]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

The chances are better you'll find more VIP type connections in private. Not too many politicans, CEO's, Doctors, Lawyers, send their kids to public schools. I work at a law firm, I can't think of any of the Partners who send their kids to public schools, they all go to Kinkaid, Strake, Espiscopal.

We have different experiences. Quite a number of lawyers from my husband's law firm send their kids to public schools (Katy, Sugar Land, Woodlands areas). Of course they are willing to travel that far. We are not. One of the reasons we started looking at private schools was the commute. There is no way I'd spend 1-1.5 hrs in traffic each way. I'd rather pay extra for a private school.

[dosto]

Aside from academics, it all depends on a school, parents, kids, etc. So many different things. You can have 2 kids and one will do better at a public school, another at a private school.
My husband went to both private and public. I went to a public school with a private feel (class of 25 only). I've worked in public and private schools. There are some issues with private. Private schools can't always accomodate your child if he/she has learning disabilities. Some of the schools will offer outside help for extra $$$, but overall a public school option may be better. Public schools, on the other side, are not that flexible. Say, your kid wants to test out of some classes, it's easier to do in a private school. It is easier to change teachers in a private school setting. Let's say your kid and the teacher don't click for whatever reason, public schools won't do anything for you unless there is quite a serious issue there.

[texasroots77]

I do not think anyone will argue that both public and private schools have their positives and negatives. It really does come down to preferance and the schools in the areas you prefer to live in. Our family enjoys living close in and in an area full of young families. We are zoned to an exemplary school. However the Kindergarten has 28 kids and 1 teacher. We personally feel it is beneficial to have our children in schools with smaller classes and religious affiliation. The kids in our area primarily go to 4 schools (1-zoned public and 3-private). It is great for my kids to have friends to play with in the neighborhood that are going to different schools.