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June 2002
New Government
Report on Private Schools
Data on Student Outcomes, School Climate,
Staff Perceptions
 Each
year, no later than the first day of June, the National Center for Education
Statistics reports to Congress on the condition of education. Perhaps
because of a lively national interest in private education, this year's
report includes a special analysis titled Private Schools: A Brief Portrait.
The study shows some startling differences between private schools and
public schools-- differences that range from school size to school climate,
from teachers to leadership, and from course requirements to student achievement.
First, some basic statistics: There were 27,000 private schools in the
United States in 1999-2000, enrolling 5.3 million students, and employing
over 400,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers. That translates into
24 percent of all schools in the country, 10 percent of students, and
12 percent of teachers. It seems private schools have staying power. As
the report puts it, they have "maintained their share of total school
enrollment throughout recent decades at roughly 10-11 percent, with growth
rates parallel to those of public schools."
Time was when the overwhelming majority of private school students attended
Catholic schools. In 1969, Catholic schools accounted for 85 percent of
private school students nationwide; today, however, they enroll 48 percent.
Thirty-six percent of students attend what the report calls "other
religious" schools, and 16 percent attend nonsectarian schools.
A greater share of private schools than public schools (42 percent versus
24 percent) are located in urban communities, though a greater share of
public schools than private schools (45 percent versus 40 percent) are
in suburban communities or large towns. Less than a third of public schools
(31 percent) and a fifth of private schools (18 percent) are located in
rural areas.
School Size/Class Size
 School
size and class size are smaller in private schools than public schools.
According to the report, "Research suggests that small/intermediate
sized schools and relatively small classes can have advantages, including
possibly leading to higher achievement." In 1999-2000, the average
private school enrolled 193 students, compared to 535 students in public
schools. Eighty percent of private schools and 29 percent of public schools
had enrollments under 300 students. Class size for self-contained classrooms
averaged 18.9 students in private schools and 20.9 in public schools.
For departmentalized classrooms, the average class size was 18.8 for private
schools and 23.6 for public schools. The report notes some research that
shows "placing students in small groups tends to foster close working
relationships between teachers and students, thus enhancing learning,
particularly among at-risk students and those in the early grades."
The average student/teacher ratio was 13.2 to 1 in private schools and
15.6 to 1 in public schools.
Teacher Influence
 Teachers
in private schools have more influence on school policies and teaching
practices than their counterparts in public schools. When it comes to
practices such as selecting teaching techniques, evaluating students,
selecting textbooks and materials, choosing content, and disciplining
students, private school teachers are more likely than public school teachers
to see themselves as having a lot of control (table 1). And in matters
of policy, the report notes substantial sector differences in the percentage
of teachers who see themselves as having a lot of influence in establishing
curriculum, setting student performance standards, setting discipline
policy, and evaluating teachers (table 2). In short, the data suggest
that private schools trust the professional judgement of teachers and
value their counsel.
Teacher Job Satisfaction
Private school teachers are more satisfied with their jobs than public
school teachers-not a trivial finding, especially during a teacher shortage
(table 3). They are also more content about class size and more likely
to say they receive lots of support from parents. By substantial margins,
they are more likely to agree that most colleagues share the school's
mission and that staff cooperative effort is high. The report notes the
significance of the last two items this way: "A school's professional
climate, in particular the existence of a strong shared purpose among
staff members and cooperative interactions among people at the school,
is likely to contribute to its effectiveness."
 Although
complaining about management may be an American pastime, most private
school teachers have some positive things to say about school administrators.
A majority strongly agrees that the principal enforces school rules (63
percent), expresses expectations for staff (57 percent), and communicates
school goals clearly (61 percent). Six of ten private school teachers
regard the administration as supportive and encouraging. By contrast,
none of those items won strong agreement from a majority of public school
teachers.
But when asked whether the principal often discusses instructional practices,
only 15 percent of private school teachers and 11 percent of public school
teachers said they strongly agree he or she does. Teachers also seem to
think their work is not appreciated enough. Less than a majority of private
school teachers (40 percent) and public school teachers (26 percent) strongly
agree that staff are recognized for good work.
School Leaders
As noted above, most private school teachers agree that their principal
communicates the school's goals clearly, but what exactly is being communicated?
Private school administrators are most likely to include academic excellence,
religious development, and basic literacy skills among the three most
important goals for their school (table 4).
Religious development distinguishes private schools from public schools,
but within the private school community it also distinguishes religious
schools from nonsectarian schools, which enroll 16 percent of private
school students. Although 82 percent of principals of Catholic schools
and 80 percent of principals of other religious schools identify religious
development among their top three goals, only 1 percent of nonsectarian
school principals do so. Their top priorities include academic excellence
(61 percent), basic literacy skills (64 percent), personal growth/self
esteem (65 percent), and self-discipline/work habits (59 percent).
Academic Outcomes
 Private
school students scored well above the national average in the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2000 tests in reading, math,
and science (table 5). NAEP scores provide an immediate measure of student
achievement, but the report also presents a long-term measure: attainment
of a college degree. "[S]tudents who had attended private school
in 8th grade were twice as likely as those who had attended public school
to have completed a bachelor's or higher degree by their mid-20s (52 versus
26 percent)."
And note this: For students from the lowest quartile of socioeconomic
status (SES), the advantage of having attended a private school was even
more pronounced. Those students were nearly four times more likely than
their public school counterparts to have attained a bachelor's or higher
degree (table 6). Private school attendance even seems to overcome a parent's
low-expectations for a child. "[F]or students whose mother's expectation
(in 8th grade) was for them to attain an associate's degree or less, those
who had attended private school completed a bachelor's or higher degree
at a rate about four times that of public school students (30 versus 7
percent)."
 The
report explains that students from a low SES family who had "completed
a calculus course in high school were much more likely than those who
had not studied calculus to earn a degree by their mid-20s." It also
notes that students in private schools "are more likely than those
in public schools to take challenging courses like calculus, and private
schools are more likely to require them." Specifically, private high
schools require more courses for graduation than public high schools in
math, science, social studies, foreign language, and computer science,
and the coursework is more likely to include advanced courses in science
(chemistry, physic, advanced biology), mathematics (trigonometry, precalculus,
calculus), and foreign language (a third year or more) (table 7).
Demanding coursework and high expectations are good for students. As
the report states it, "Applying high academic standards-both requiring
students to complete high-level, challenging courses and pushing students
to strive and excel in their work-is a central schooling component that
many experts recommend."
 On
top of the more challenging coursework, many private high schools also
require students to serve the community as a condition for graduation.
Forty percent of private schools that offer high school diplomas require
community service, compared to 10 percent of public schools.
Commenting on the achievement of private school students, the report
acknowledges that private schools "have advantages from the outset
that many public schools cannot match, stemming from the choice by students
and their families to participate in private education." But the
report goes on to say that "requiring students to tackle difficult
course materials, developing consistent commitment from staff to meet
clearly communicated goals, and maintaining a school climate that extols
learning may well contribute to better achievement at schools in either
sector."
Schools and Staffing Survey
A major source of data for the NCES report on private schools was the
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), the country's most extensive survey
of public and private schools, their teachers, and administrators. On
May 31, NCES released a separate overview of the SASS data collected during
the 1999-2000 school year. The report contains some fascinating findings.
Herewith some examples:
- The average age of private school teachers is 42; the average age
of public school teachers is 42.3.
- The average starting salary for teachers in private schools is $20,302;
for teachers in public schools it is $25,888.
- Private elementary schools are more likely than public elementary
schools to offer students extended day, before-school, or after-school
daycare programs (65 percent versus 47 percent).
- Public school teachers were more likely than private school teachers
to report that physical conflicts among students were a problem in their
school (5 percent versus 1 percent), that robbery or theft was a serious
problem (2.4 percent versus 0.9 percent), that they were threatened
with injury in the past 12 months (9.6 percent versus 3.9 percent),
and that they were physically attacked in the past 12 months (4.2 percent
versus 2.2 percent).
Private Schools: A Brief Portrait, a special analysis section of The
Condition of Education 2002, is available on the NCES Web site. Click
here to download the report directly from the NCES Web site. Data
reported in the special analysis are from the following surveys: NCES
Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS:19992000), the National Assessment
of Educational Progress High School Transcript Study of 1998 (NAEP:1998),
the NAEP:2000 student achievement tests, and the National Education Longitudinal
Study of 1988, "Fourth Follow-up" (NELS:1988/2000). Information
about these surveys can be found at http://nces.
ed.gov/surveys/.
Click
here to visit the NCES Web site, where you can download The Condition
of Education or particular sections of it.
Top of Page
CAPENotes
• Results released last month from an assessment of student achievement
in U.S. history show that the nation's students seem to be growing in
knowledge about their country, though they're still a long way from knowing
it well.
Average scores for fourth- and eighth-graders were higher in the NAEP
(National Assessment of Educational Progress) 2001 U.S. history assessment
than in 1994, when the test was last given. Twelfth-grade performance,
however, remained, statistically speaking, unchanged.
Students in private schools scored above the national average. According
to Gary Phillips, deputy commissioner of the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES), "At all three grades, students in nonpublic schools
showed higher average performance than those in public schools."
The NAEP report states, "Knowledge of United States history is an
important component of effective citizenship." In 1999, NCES released
results from the NAEP civics assessment, also designed to measure how
well students are prepared to meet their responsibilities as citizens.
Above-average private school scores in civics and history show private
schools are second to none in instilling democratic principles and preparing
good citizens.
• "If I were making policy on the basis of these data alone,
I would say African-American kids should go to private schools."
That's what researcher Michael T. Nettles said at a recent conference
at the Brookings Institution. He was talking about an analysis of data
relating SAT performance to rigorous coursework in high school.
Lynn Olson reported Nettles' comments and research in the May 22 edition
of Education Week. Ms. Olson described one of Nettles' discoveries this
way: "In one of the most striking findings, the almost 200-point
gap in combined math and verbal SAT scores between white and African-American
students turned out to be almost half as large in private, nonreligious
schools, and more than one-fourth as large in Roman Catholic and other
religious schools. That proved to be the case even after adjusting for
characteristics commonly associated with nonpublic schools, such as smaller
school size and a more academically focused curriculum."
• Harvard professors Paul E. Peterson and William G. Howell were
at the Brookings Institution last month to discuss their new book, The
Education Gap: Vouchers and Urban Schools. Based on randomized field
trials on the effects of privately funded vouchers in New York City, Dayton,
and Washington, DC, the book documents the positive effects of vouchers
on African-American students. After three years of using vouchers to attend
a private school, the three-city average scores of African-American students
rose 6.6 national percentile points on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.
Scores for students in New York City rose 9.2 points, closing the black/white
achievement gap by nearly half.
• U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige last month announced the
names of 172 secondary schools selected as Blue Ribbon Schools for 2001-2002.
The list includes 145 public schools and 27 private schools. More information
about the program, including the names of recognized schools, is available
on CAPE's Web site.
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