The Public Purpose
Number 18 January 1998

U.S. Public Schools and Private Schools:
Performance and Spending Compared


US private schools enrolled approximately 4.7 million students in 1990-1991 compared to the public (government owned and operated) school enrollment of 40.1 million students. Approximately 55 percent of private school enrollment was in Roman Catholic schools, 31 percent was in other religious schools, and 14 percent was in non-sectarian schools.(1)

Spending

Private school costs were lower than those of public schools. In 1990-1:(2)

If all primary and secondary public education could be provided for at the per student cost of non-elite private schools, $115 billion less would have been spent in 1995.(4)

Inputs

Private schools appear to be at a disadvantage to public schools in a number of respects.(5)

Private schools also appear to be advantaged compared to public schools:

Educational Performance

Private schools cost less per student on average, yet, performance on standardized tests is higher in private schools than in public schools, although average differences may be in part related to socioeconomic and home factors.(7)

Private school students scored Proficient in the 1994 NAEP reading test at 1.5 times the rate of public schools students (Table #1).(8) Roman Catholic schools, which can be used as a surrogate for non-elite private schools, produced Proficient scores at 1.4 times or more the rate of public schools. The extent of the difference was described as follows:

... students at all three grades who attended non-public schools (either catholic or other non-public schools) had a significantly higher average proficiency than did students attending public schools.(9)
Table #1
National Assessment of Educational Progress
Percentage Scoring At or Above Proficient: Reading (1994)
Type of School 4th Grade 8th Grade 12th Grade
Public 24% 26% 32%
Private 38% 47% 48%
Roman Catholic 36% 47% 44%
Other 41% 48% 56%


Average reading scale scores were higher among private schools but, like public schools, average scores did not reach Proficiency levels (Table #2).

Table #2:
National Assessment of Educational Progress
Average Scale Scores: Reading (1994)
Type of School 4th Grade 8th Grade 12th Grade
Public 213 258 285
Private 232 280 301
Roman Catholic 230 279 297
Other 235 281 306
Scale Score Required for Proficient 243 283 304


Roman Catholic school students scored at Proficient in the 1992 NAEP mathematics test at 1.2 to 1.5 times the rate of public schools students (Table #3).(10) Other private schools produced Proficient scores at 1.2 to 2.5 times the rate of public schools.

Table #3
National Assessment of Educational Progress
Percentage Scoring At or Above Proficient: Mathematics (1992)
Type of School 4th Grade 8th Grade 12th Grade
Public 18% 23% 14%
Private: Roman Catholic 22% 32% 22%
Private: Other 22% 43% 36%


Average scale scores for mathematics were higher for private schools than for public schools but remain below the level required to be Proficient (Table #4).

Table #4
National Assessment of Educational Progress
Average Scale Scores: Mathematics (1992)
Type of School 4th Grade 8th Grade 12th Grade
Public 217 266 297
Private: Roman Catholic 227 277 310
Private: Other 226 284 319
Scale Score Required for Proficient 248 294 331


Private school students have a five percent higher graduation rate than public schools students and are 1.5 times as likely to apply for entrance to post-secondary education.(11) Private school students are more likely to graduate from college. Roman Catholic school students are twice as likely to graduate from college as public school students, while students of other private schools are 2.5 times as likely to graduate from college. Hispanic and African-American private school students are three times as likely to graduate from college (both Roman Catholic and other private school students).(12)

FOOTNOTES

1. Don McLaughlin, Catherine O'Donnell, and Lynn Ries, Private Schools in the United States: A Statistical Profile, 1990-91 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995).

2. Michael Garet, Tsze H. Chan, and Joel D. Sherman, Estimates of Expenditures for Private K-12 Schools (Washington, DC: Pelavin Research Institute, 1995).

3. Schools not affiliated with the National Association of Independent Schools, which are "known primarily for their academic excellence and their ability to place their students in prestigious colleges." (Excerpt from Don McLaughlin et al.).

4. Assumes private non-exclusive costs per pupil at 42.6 percent below those of public schools.

5. Don McLaughlin et al.

6. Calculated from data in Don McLaughlin et al.

7. Paul L. Williams, Clyde M. Reese, Jay R. Campbell, John Mazzeo, and Gary W. Phillips, 1994 NAEP Reading: A First Look (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995).

8. Paul L. Williams et al.

9. Paul L. Williams et al.

10. Ina V.S. Mullis, John A. Dossey, Eugene H. Owen, and Gary W. Phillips, NAEP 1992 Mathematics Report Card for the Nation and the States (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993).

11. Digest of Education Statistics, 1994 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1994).

12. Peter Benson and Marilyn Miles McMillen, Private Schools in the United States: A Statistical Profile with Comparisons to Public Schools (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1991).



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