What is the bottom line with this private school thing?

[Anonymous]

There have been countless threads on private or public, which is better. Am I wasting my money? and so on.

In the end, I think that the anxiety is about quality for dollar spent.
These high tuitions are making parents ask questions. But private school is unlike any other large purchase such as a car or home, where we get a lot more information before we buy, and we can put a real value on it.

If there was some way of quantifying what we are buying, maybe we could rest easy. The private schools refuse to let us know about test scores. The last peek at St. Alban's average SAT's did not impress many people, and I question whether it is worth it.

Is there some way to actually quantify what we are getting?

Is there a reason the schools don't want us to know?

Is it reasonable to put pressure on the schools to hand over the test scores?

Universities hand over more info and charge the big bucks, why not private schools?

[Anonymous]

But don't you think ultimately the issue should be whether the school suits the kid? I'm really not worried about her SAT score. After 9 years of DCPS I'm sending my kid to a private school but SAT scores didn't come into it.

I understand your frustration and I'm not saying you shouldn't have access to that information but is that the most important thing in making a decision about which school your kid goes to?

[Anonymous]

I don't really understand the angst here. You are seeking to quantify something that cannot be quantified. Are you considering private school in the belief that your child will have higher test scores? Get into an Ivy League college? Neither of those is more likely to happen as a result of private school. It's possible that the latter is less likely, since only a very small number of students from each graduating class will get into Harvard. That's true at every single school, public and private alike. If you want your kid to go to an Ivy, you're better off moving to a small town in some place that will attract notice for geographic diversity.

Are you considering St. Albans for the alum network and access to families in the ruling class? That is a payoff for attending St. Albans. Only you can decide if it's worth it.

In the end, the right school for your child depends on your child's characteristics, your family's characteristics, and the public school options available to you. There is no formula, no algorithm, nothing to tell you what tangible, visible payoffs your family will experience from choosing private over public. You can ask for the test data, but I'm not sure that will answer your questions.

[Anonymous]

I'd love to see those test scores
Cos, while I might not be trying to send a child to Harvard, it would be nice if I saw them having a better shot at Caltech or some other school BECAUSE of the private school...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But don't you think ultimately the issue should be whether the school suits the kid? I'm really not worried about her SAT score. After 9 years of DCPS I'm sending my kid to a private school but SAT scores didn't come into it.

I understand your frustration and I'm not saying you shouldn't have access to that information but is that the most important thing in making a decision about which school your kid goes to?

Not all parents that send their kids to private school don't care about SATs.
I know someone who worked in the office at a local private high school. They said that the SAT scores were averaged by the school and found to be very low in Math. That was not released to the parents. The school did however brag about 3 national merit scholars. That is a bit deceptive.
I have another friend whose kid left the WIS to go to public high school in MC. He tried to get into an IB program and did not because he tested very poorly. At WIS, he was near the top of his class.

[Anonymous]

People do not send their kids to STA for the test scores.

[Anonymous]

Catholic schools post their SAT score....

[Anonymous]

Well, some stuff you can certainly see with your own eyes. Is there are art studio for the youngest children? A pool with instructors? How many children are in each class? Do they have a music studio and music more than once a week? Language instruction? In how many languages and how often each week? How is math taught, and do they use current best practices?

All things being equal, sure, I'd like someday for my children to have a higher SAT score rather than a lower one. But there's so, so much more than happens in those years before SAT prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools post their SAT score....

Where?

[Anonymous]

As a private school parent, my reason for investing in this for my children has to do with the complete, and whole education that my children will receive. I am not saying this cannot happen at public school, but as a partial product of a local public school system, there is no doubt in my mind that the private school experience, at least for my children, and their learning styles is such that they will benefit from the approach that their school employs with respect to laying a foundation for learning.

I couldn't care less about social networks or SAT scores, much less what school they end up attending afterwords.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a private school parent, my reason for investing in this for my children has to do with the complete, and whole education that my children will receive. I am not saying this cannot happen at public school, but as a partial product of a local public school system, there is no doubt in my mind that the private school experience, at least for my children, and their learning styles is such that they will benefit from the approach that their school employs with respect to laying a foundation for learning.

I couldn't care less about social networks or SAT scores, much less what school they end up attending afterwords.

But would you like to be able to quantify it in some way?

[Anonymous]

Having lived it firsthand, I know the difference. The school system I attended has done nothing but deteriorate since I was in it.

I also know the school my kids are in very well. I am exceedingly confident that my children will come out of the school as engaged, questioning and well rounded people.

The scores and other issues will take care of themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools post their SAT score....

Where?

Elizabeth Seton has posted averages in Math 505 writing 540 critical reading 543 for 2007, on the website
I've also seen St Anselm's scores somewhere, along with a n average of how many AP classes the average student takes there...

[Anonymous]

Not all parents that send their kids to private school don't care about SATs.

I have another friend whose kid left the WIS to go to public high school in MC. He tried to get into an IB program and did not because he tested very poorly. At WIS, he was near the top of his class.

This sounds rather surprising. The IB scores at WIS (posted on their website) are extremely high, also compared to the US average. Which means that students are very well prepared for testing in general. Perhaps that particular student you are referring to was not very good at the kind of exams he had to take for that public school.

[Anonymous]

I am one of the PP's....I didn't say I didn't care about SATs, but rather if the whole child is educated and has a foundation for learning, the SAT and college admissions will take care of itself.