Private schools benefit students by fostering academic
excellence and high achievement, educating
the whole child within a values-based setting, and
preparing youngsters for success in life. If you want a caring, challenging,
nurturing, safe and secure environment for your
child--a place where he/she can learn and succeed--consider a private
school.
Academic Excellence
Private schools are known for the high standards they set. They engage
students and spark the desire to learn. Teachers expect excellence from
students, and students tend to live up to those expectations. The high
expectations and academic rigor help account for above-average levels
of student success, including higher college-going rates. If you're looking
to help your child reach his/her potential in a school committed to excellence,
consider a private school.
In a June 2002 report titled Private
Schools: A Brief Portrait, the U.S. Department of Education had this
to say about the academic performance of private schools:
- Private school students generally perform higher than their public
school counterparts on standardized achievement tests.
- Private high schools typically have more demanding graduation requirements
than do public high schools.
- Private school graduates are more likely than their peers from public
schools to have completed advanced-level courses in three academic subject
areas (see table).
- Private school students are more likely than public school students
to complete a bachelor's or advanced degree by their mid-20s (see table).
Private school students scored well above the national average in the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). 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).
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."
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High Achievement
According to NCES data, 88 percent of private high school students apply
to college, compared to 57 percent of public high school students. And
reports from the College Board indicate that SAT scores for private school
students are well above the national average.
When it comes to challenging students to stretch their capacity, private
schools do an exceptional job. Statistics from the College Board and NCES
show that for high school seniors, 24.2 percent of private school students
took AP exams in 1998, while 9.4 percent of public school students did
so. Private schools, which account for only 7.5 percent of all high school
students, produced 20 percent of 12th graders who took AP exams in 1998
and 22 percent of those who scored high enough to have the advanced courses
count for college credit.
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NAEP Results
The National Center for Education Statistics periodically administers
the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to test the knowledge
and skills of the nation's students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Students in
private schools consistently score well above the national average. At
all three grades a significantly higher percentage of private school students
score at or above the Basic, Proficient, and Advanced levels than public
school students. Below are the results from the most recent NAEP report
cards in reading. To see results from NAEP report cards in other subjects,
click here.
NAEP 2003 Reading Report Card
Percentage of Students
in Public and Private Schools
At or Above Various Achievement Levels
Grade 4
|
| |
Private |
Public |
| Basic |
80 |
62 |
| Proficient |
48 |
30 |
| Advanced |
14 |
7 |
Grade 8
|
| Basic |
90 |
72 |
| Proficient |
53 |
30 |
| Advanced |
8 |
3 |
The following articles provide additional evidence of the high performance
of private schools.
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School Safety
Private schools are orderly and safe--the kind of setting necessary for
students to learn. The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), published by
the National Center for Education Statistics, provides data on school
safety and discipline. The following table, based on 1999-2000 SASS data
(the most recent), indicates the extent to which teachers think various
behaviors are serious problems in their schools. (Source: Table 73, Digest
of Education Statistics: 2002)
Percentage of teachers who perceive
certain issues as serious problems in their schools
|
|
Public |
Private |
| student disrespect
for teachers |
17 |
4 |
| use of alcohol |
7 |
3 |
| drug abuse |
6 |
2 |
| student tardiness |
10 |
3 |
| student absenteeism |
14 |
3 |
| students unprepared
to learn |
30 |
5 |
| lack of parent involvement |
24 |
3 |
| student apathy |
21 |
4 |
In October 2003, the Bureau of Justice
Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics released
Indicators
of School Crime and Safety, 2003, which provides a comprehensive
picture of the exposure of students and teachers to crime in schools.
While the report's main focus is public schools, a few of its many charts
and tables also extend to private schools. The charts below capture
the major findings of the report that involve private schools.
Percentage of teachers in 1999-00
who reported that a student...
|
|
Public |
Private |
| threatened them
with injury |
10 |
4 |
| physically attacked
them |
4 |
2 |
Percentage of students, age 12-18,
who in 2001 reported...
|
| having experienced
violent victimization at school |
1.9 |
1.0 |
| being bullied at
school |
8.0 |
7.3 |
| fearing being attacked
or harmed at school |
6.6 |
4.6 |
| being
targets of hate-related words at school |
12.7 |
8.2 |
| that they avoided certain places
in school for fear of their own safety |
4.9 |
2.0 |
| that street gangs were present
in school |
21.6 |
4.9 |
Each year the Horatio Alger Association issues a back-to-school
report on the opinions and attitudes of American teenagers. The 2000
State of
Our Nation's Youth report covered how teens feel about a host
of issues, including safety and security in school. The following table
summarizes what students in public and private schools think about safety.
Safety and Security in School
|
|
Public |
Private |
| Always feel safe
in my school |
36% |
64% |
| Teachers and administrators
have taken all necessary steps for my safety and security |
41% |
57% |
The following articles provide additional information
on school safety.
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Focus on Values
Private schools focus on the essentials--that which provides
purpose and meaning to life. The sad reality is that our society is
marked by a great fear that fundamental values are coming undone. Within
that context, a growing number of parents desperately desire the opportunity
to choose schools whose primary purpose is to provide youngsters a sound
moral and religious education. Private schools are the only schools
we have that can assist parents with the religious and spiritual development
of their children--a sphere of development so essential for their complete
and proper upbringing.
The 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey mentioned above
asked school principals to rate various goals as their most important.
Below is the rank order of goals rated by principals of public schools
and private schools, with the percentage of principals ranking each
goal as their first, second, or third most important (Public school
principals were not asked about the goal of religious/spiritual development.)
Private
School Principals'
School Goals |
Public
School Principals'
School Goals |
Academic
excellence (66%)
Religious/spiritual life (64%)
Basic literacy (51%)
Work habits/self-discipline (47%)
Personal growth (32%)
Specific moral values (24%)
Social skills (12%)
Occupational skills (4%) |
- Basic literacy (80%)
Academic excellence (70%)
Work habits/self-discipline (60%)
Personal growth (32%)
Social skills (25%)
Occupational skills (13%)
Specific moral values (9%) |
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