Child Rearing: Public versus private Schools.?

Question

Does anyone have any personal anecdotes, or can anyone guide me to empirical data, which indicates to any degree of certainty that private school students outperform their public school counterparts... I did both private and public and found at least one public institution which outperformed the private... Also, most people would agree that a parent's direct involvement in child rearing is crucial....

Please comment.

(Also, I reside in New Jersey - anyone with Jersey specific answers will be appreciated... but all answers welcome.)

Answer 1

Most data suggests that homeschooled kids perform best, followed by private schooled kids and public schooled kids in last.
But, this is just standardized testing results.
What other differences are there.
What things are being taught in the schools which will undermine what the parents are teaching? (see Boulder, CO high school having speakers promoting sexual activity of all kinds with a variety of partners as well as promoting illegal and dangerous drug use). We found out about this because someone let it leak. Schools don't publicize this type of stuff. They have been caught telling kids to keep certain teaching "secret".
There is so much more to education than standardized test scores. Remember, "education is not the filling of a bucket it is igniting a fire". Many public schools now "teach to the test" and hence are filling the bucket. This info is puked out on the test and the child moves on to the next bucket filling. Some private schools and most homeschools ignite the fire of learning and do not teach to the test, yet they outperform the public schools.
In conclusion, if you can homeschool your kids, do it. If not, do your research and find a great private school. Look at more than test scores.
Good luck.

Answer 2

I use to live the NYC area and know that NJ has an awesome public school system. I am partial to public, my kids go to public and are doing very well. Private school have great stats because the families are well off and tend to stress education heavily. With that the kids tend to do better. Students don't have to take any state achievements exams. This way they don't have to compare themselves to public. The kids always get tons of HW because the parents are paying so much $$ they want to see some work involved. In public school your child will be exposed to all kinds of kids with different socioeconomic backgrounds, races, and academic background. This is what the real world is about. Also I know for a fact that private school teachers do not have to be certified in their area of teaching. In public school it is mandatory. Therefore you will get better teachers in public school. Your child also is a factor. If they are good students they will do well anywhere. If they need lots of attention and coddling then private school might be best. I have the $$ to send my kids to private, but I would rather save it for college or even graduate school. I could go on and on but over all my choice would always be public first! Good Luck!

Answer 3

Depending on the community/school district, the public schools might be better than the private ones. If your goal is to have the most academically rigorous curriculum and the most opportunities for extracurricular involvement, then I would go for a private college-preparatory school, unless your local public school has advanced placement courses with a high average SAT/ACT for their advanced placement program participants. It also depends on your child's interests. For example, if your child is determined to participate in a large performing arts program, a smaller private school will not likely have resources to offer that specialized of an opportunity. Many private schools will have a faith or religious affiliation, so that will be something else to consider. Will your family be open to that? I don't think that anyone can provide you with hard data... both private and public schools have a vast range of levels of quality, and it will also depend on the specific datum you are measuring.

Answer 4

I can answer this question because I've been to both and I'm currently at a public school. At a private school it's about manners, knowing what's right from wrong and know one ever does anything wrong or at least it's not supposed to exist,but that's not the case in the real world, so how will your children be able to function in that situation if they've never been exposed to it. I felt like I never learned anything academic wise. After my parents divorce when I was nine I moved and went to a public school it was absolutely different they didn't really care about manners it was all about academics, but since I didn't learn anything the previous year in private school I failed, but after that year I felt like I got the education I deserved because I didn't learn multiplication/ division until 4TH grade so after experincing both I reccomend public school....

Answer 5

i honestly don't think which school you go to matters that much...ofcourse you don't want to send your kids to a bad school whether it be private or public but a normal public school and private are on the same level. The deciding factor is how well you brought up your kids. I have went to both public and private schools switching back and forth and realized that i could advance in both. Public and Private schools both have advance classes with push kids and regular classes for everyone else. If your kids push hard they will be placed in the advanced classes if not they most likely will end in the regular classes. I actually felt like public school teachers were meaner than private. I felt more comfortable raising my hand in private school than public (but that's just me)....
Ofcourse if your kid is a brainiac then send him/her to an advanced school. Feed them information before puberty hits. ;-)

Answer 6

I can only relate my experiences
I started first grade in Catholic school in the Bronx, I had no head start, preschool, or kindergarten. I could read by the end of the school year. In second grade I could read on a fourth grade level. When we moved to New Jersey I was in 5th grade. My parents had to send me to the local public elementary school. We had a teacher in his first year, the classroom was chaos. Kids didn't raise their hands, teacher related all his boyhood pranks and stories, there was no order. In the private class we practically sat at attention, not fun but more productive and respectful. Of course that was a long time ago for me.(1960)

Answer 7

Depends not only on the state but the county and city where they will go to school. For instance, when I lived in Rochester, MN (Mayo Clinic, IBM, etc) our public school had chartered bus trips for our ski club in elementary school. Outstanding teachers, etc.

I've also gone to some really atrocious schools. In reality, I think it depends on the student. Public or Private it's the kids determination on how they will perform.

I never did private school but have known many people that have. You may have to research the schools yourself, speak with the counselors and read over information regarding the last graduating class, etc.

Answer 8

Your request for information can't be answered unless you have specific schools in mind. In our area, only one for certain outperforms public schools (Breck Academy), but it also only takes ambitious and/or rich students in the first place. Where I grew up in Massachusetts, the public school fashioned itself after the area private schools (lots of rich kids in boarding schools) and clearly was superior in English, writing, history and speech, but sucked for science and math. The schools my sisters went to in Minnesota were superior for science and math, but pretty much everything else was haphazard, partly due simply to the size of the district.

You also have to look at the type of private school you are considering and comparing. Religious based private schools often shortchange students in math and science due to lack of funding or interest. My Dad went to a Catholic military school. Good in all areas, and still is, but they only take top students. All private schools can refuse all but the best students and most won't take anybody with learning disabilities (thus having a fake higher score when compared to public schools).

Homeschooling, as a group, is often better due to one-on-one attention, but only about 5% of families can even make this choice as one parent must be stay-at-home. Not all children thrive in this environment either.

Sorry I couldn't answer your question directly.

Answer 9

As a child, I went to both private and public schools and I saw very little difference. The private schools did have things like pools and one even had a horse stable, but the classroom instruction was the same. Hours of mind numbing boredom.

That's tme main reason we have decided to home-school our children.

Oh yeah, and at the private schools they were allowed to hit us.

Answer 10

I live in the caribbean on the island of Trinidad. I went to a private school and it was great! the other children never teased me for being fat. I never knew the difference between an east indian and a *****. then I went to a public school and got teased EVERYDAY for being fat and learned the digfference between a ***** and a eastindioan learning which group i belong in. SO private schools ALL the way for my future children