Is private school that much better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In general, the major determinants of children's performance in school are their parents' income and educational levels. Once you control for those things, the benefits of private school, on average, look pretty small, according to the studies I've read.

Many of the public school districts in this area are among the best in the nation. Most kids will be fine there. Even in DC, kids at Wilson, Banneker, and SWW get 5's on AP tests and head off to Ivy League schools. (Many of those kids are, like the kids from Sidwell, come from double graduate degree families).

If your kid is a math/science superstar, I would say definitely go public. Kids at the privates are lawyer's kids (that's who can afford 30k per kids per year) and they don't tend to push math and science as much.[u] i've interviewed kids at the Big 3, and I am always shocked that their parents are paying for them to have fewer research opportunities than the average public school kid in MoCo.

If you have a kids who need a smaller class size or who is an average student, the individual attention at a private may be the way to go.

So, let me understand this. If the private schools don't push math and science as much then what do they concentrate on? Writing? Foreign Languages? Arts, Sports? I would think you should expect a well rounded education for all this money you are paying.

OP here. Of course as a parent you want the best for your kids, but at the young age you don't know what your kid is going to be good at. My kid is only 2, I don't know whether he has the beginnings of a math genius, a music prodigy or a writer, or maybe he just doesn't even have any specific above average skills or may even be needing extra help to keep up with average kids. If you must move somewhere in the near future and make this decision on the area to live, how do you do this? If I don't know what my kid's needs are going to be, my thinking is just send him to the public elementary school in a good school district and then see as time goes what to concentrate on. If it proves to be necessary that my kid needs special education needs, then find a school that offers it, if not, stay put.

I am also well aware of the class distinctions and the fact that the private schools tend to serve elites. So, it might be desirable from the perspective of gaining connections for your child to go to the private school, this is how it was in the place where I am from, it was more exaggerated because private schools were really exclusive and their numbers very small as public school was the default for the vast majority of the population. the upward mobility was also pretty much dependent on connections and who you know, this is not as prominent here in the US. But even if this is true to some extent in the US, does this really matter until your kid is in college or at least in high school? Why spend so much money for the elementary schools, what connections for the future life will your 7 year old develop and keep that he cannot when he is let's say 16?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
So, let me understand this. If the private schools don't push math and science as much then what do they concentrate on? Writing? Foreign Languages? Arts, Sports? I would think you should expect a well rounded education for all this money you are paying.

OP here. Of course as a parent you want the best for your kids, but at the young age you don't know what your kid is going to be good at. My kid is only 2, I don't know whether he has the beginnings of a math genius, a music prodigy or a writer, or maybe he just doesn't even have any specific above average skills or may even be needing extra help to keep up with average kids. If you must move somewhere in the near future and make this decision on the area to live, how do you do this? If I don't know what my kid's needs are going to be, my thinking is just send him to the public elementary school in a good school district and then see as time goes what to concentrate on. If it proves to be necessary that my kid needs special education needs, then find a school that offers it, if not, stay put.

I am also well aware of the class distinctions and the fact that the private schools tend to serve elites. So, it might be desirable from the perspective of gaining connections for your child to go to the private school, this is how it was in the place where I am from, it was more exaggerated because private schools were really exclusive and their numbers very small as public school was the default for the vast majority of the population. the upward mobility was also pretty much dependent on connections and who you know, this is not as prominent here in the US. But even if this is true to some extent in the US, does this really matter until your kid is in college or at least in high school? Why spend so much money for the elementary schools, what connections for the future life will your 7 year old develop and keep that he cannot when he is let's say 16?

Yes to both bolded statements. In fact I would say connections don't matter until college, conceivably even grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So would it also be your view that there are few meaningful differences between different public schools for most kids, because the primary determinants of their success will be parents' SES and educational levels?

NP here. ^ The answer is yes.

NP here. If you're choosing a school based on what it can do for your child's future, then the answer to your question is yes. If your choosing a school based on the experiences it can give your child now, then there are differences among schools, although whether public or private is better depends on the particular kid, the particular school, and your family's values.

Can you please elaborate? When you say "what it can do for your child's future" it sounds a bit ominous and final. It's like you are saying, no matter what makes your kid flourish now, it's just an immediate success, but the long term success is determined whether you kid goes to the "right place" in the end. Well, doesn't this go without saying that we all care about our kids long term future just as much as the immediate experiences? Just the way you say it it sound like no matter the choice, what matters at the end is your kid's experience of rubbing shoulders with the wealthier more powerful demographics, e.g. the upper classes who can effortlessly afford the most expensive private schools and who tend to be overrepresented in such institutions.

No, no, I'm saying the opposite. Your education and your SEC are the biggestvdeterminants to your child's long term future. Since that's already more or less set and independent of what school your child goes to, it really doesnt matter -- in the long term -- whether you go public or private. But depending on the characteristcs of the individual school, what schoolmyou choose could have a difference on the child's current, day to day life.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is going to be long.
The research is ambiguous. One large study says that public schools both good and bad have a slight advantage over private schools both good and bad (standardized test scores other than the SATs). That study had a little note that religious private schools were the worst performers and that those schools were included in the mix of private schools. Let me point out that the Catholic Holy Order schools do not lag, but actually do better than most private or public schools. But for the most part, the more religion, the worse the private school. So I asked myself if that study had taken out the religious schools and run the numbers again, one might have seen a better outcome for private school. They also pointed out that private schools have a wider range of quality, that is, buyer beware. (google Lubienski)
Now, another study looks at private schools and SAT scores, where the kids do better and the reason seems to be the greater breath of topics that the child is usually exposed to in private school. This can be compensated for at home with trips to museums and wide ranges reading choices.
Then there are the soft skills that I sense kids in private school excel in. There is GENERALLY more of an emphasis on honing in those life skills.
Then there is the model...is it K-8, which seems to suit kids in the early teen years better. The public schools fail miserably in this area. The middle schools are weak and you almost never hear anyone brag about how great their middle school is. It almost seems like something no one wamts to talk about.
I have one in private and one in public. I wish that my private school child weren't so spoiled, but I wish that my public schol child had more enrichment (which he appreciates). I wish that the private school had better teachers and stronger academics. I wish the folks at publi school were more friendly and willing to help. If I had all the money in the world, I would still live in the suburbs and use private school. (BTW, DC2 does not want to go to private school for some reason).
Will we get higher test scores out of private school? A little. The big question is, "Is it worth it?". Probably not.