Private Schools in America

The role of private schools in America has a long-standing history, and in fact, until the nineteenth century, all forms of education were private in nature (Johnson et al., 2005). An awareness of the tradition and importance that private schools initially played in the American educational structure is important to note when thinking about how private schools are now viewed in today’s society. It is impossible to examine and discuss the role of private schools in America thoroughly, however, without the inclusion of the public education system included in this conversation. At this point in time, public education now has a rich and storied history, and decades of debate have centered on the benefits and disadvantages of a public versus private school education.

For the purposes of this paper, I will primarily focus on private versus public school education for grades K-12, initially examining a question that arguably permeates our society, which is whether private schools provide a higher quality education than public, as measured by class size, grades, standardized test scores and college admissions (Suitor et al, 2004). This is a loaded and complex question, which I believe is without any clear or definite answers. When I think about the school where I currently teach, a small public high school in the South Bronx, versus the high school that I attended, a small private Episcopal school in North Baltimore, the differences are dramatic, dramatic on many levels. To begin, in terms of school structure, the school where I teach has class sizes ranging from 25 – 34 students per class and the school that I attended, class sizes ranged from 10 – 14 students per class. That alone, in my opinion, is a telling difference related to academic performance and classroom management. With less students, teachers can provide more individualized instruction and management of students is simply easier.

So, yes, based on this one very specific example, I would say that the education that I received was better than the education of the students at the school where I teach. And this is infuriating because there really is no reason that my students shouldn’t receive the same level of education that I did. Of course, there are many factors leading to why my experience and the experience of my students are so different. Luckily, this is only one example, and the converse exists of public schools academically out performing private schools.

In looking at the socio-economic and racial breakdowns of my high school and the high school where I teach, there are glaring differences. The school where I teach the majority of the students come from low-income families and are students of color; the school I attended, was almost all white, and students came mostly from upper-middle class families. What does this mean? How is it that a private school attended by mostly white well-off kids, students receive a rigorous academic background, and that a public school attended solely by students of color from lower earning income backgrounds, receive a less rigorous education? In thinking about this contrast, the question of whether or not private schools lead to segregation should be raised. Clotfelter (2004) concluded the following related to private schools in the South and the relationship they serve in terms of segregation: “In non-metropolitan areas, they were very important indeed, accounting for 42% of total segregation.”

Some interesting and encouraging research has been published related to longitudinal evidence that public schools are at least as effective as private schools in boosting student achievement (Lubienski et al, 2008). Among many populations, there is a strongly held belief that private education is the best education, that private schools demonstrate higher student achievement, and yet in Lubienski et al (2008) study of more than 30,00 students in fourth and eighth grades, public schools were outperforming private schools in mathematics achievement. This study, and I imagine others like, are uplifting, inasmuch as one can hope that these statistics reach across vast spectrums of America. These stats call to mind many questions: Do students from urban, suburban or rural areas receive the same kind of education, or students from wealthy neighborhoods versus poor neighborhoods? Do certain states have better public education systems? While I think the findings of Lubienski et al (2008) are hopeful, I cannot help but wonder if all students are being accounted for.

Often the missions of private schools, particularly those with religious affiliations, promote the idea that these schools provide a better social environment than public schools, but in research conducted by Suitor et al (2004) it was discovered that there was little evidence to support the claim that private high schools provided a more positive social climate than public schools. As someone who attended a private high school I can attest to the fact that there were lots of social rules and consequences, but I would not say it was a more positive social climate. I think that no matter what any administration, whether private or public, wants in terms of social environment, they can not truly dictate or control how students will be; kids will kids regardless of backgrounds or bank accounts.

Private schools will continue to have a place in American education, as they always have, and more than likely, the debate will continue on and on as to whether private schools provide better educations than public schools. Ultimately, I believe that can only be determined on a school-by-school basis. As a teacher in a public school, I clearly believe in and am dedicated to public education, but if I were to don my parent shoes (though I am not a parent), and say that I found myself in a position of sending my child to an okay public school or a good private school...what would I do?

References

Clotfelter, C. (2004) Private schools, segregation, and the southern states. Peabody Journal of Education, 79(2), 74-97.

Johnson, J. A., Musial, D., Hall, G. E., Gollink, D. M., & Dupuis, V. L.
(2005). Introduction to the foundations of American education. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

Lubienski, C., Crane, C., Lubienski, S. (2008). What do we know about school effectiveness? Academic gains in public and private schools. Phi Delta Kappa, May 2008, 689-695.

Suitor, J., Powers, R., Brown, R. (2004). Avenues to prestige among adolescents in public and religiously affiliated high schools. Adolescence, 39(154), 229-241.