A Gap Between Public and Private Schools? Not in
Student Performance!
“Contrary to popular belief, we can find no evidence
that private schools actually increase student performance,”
says Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education
Policy.” Jennings’ statement is based on
the results of a recent CEP study, "Are
Private High Schools Better Academically Than Public
High Schools?" issued in October 2007. The
report questions the assumption that “private
schools on the whole are better” and finds that,
for the most part, it is not supported by evidence.
Education Week notes that “the findings
of the report contradict a large body of research—and
conventional wisdom—that private school students
outperform public school students.” Regarding
his conclusions, researcher and author of the study,
Harold Wenglinsky, says “the higher performance
at private schools is more likely a reflection of the
collective resources and support that these parents
bring to the school than to factors intrinsic to the
school setting.”
What differentiates the CEP study from other research
is that beyond academic trends, the report looks at
long-term outcomes and accounts for socioeconomic backgrounds.
The study followed the same cohort of students over
time to assess their achievement before entering high
schools and tracked critical aspects of family life,
such as socioeconomic status and parental involvement,
which help shape students’ academic, civic, and
economic lives. It also focused specifically on low-income
urban youth and distinguished between the performance
of students attending different types of public and
private schools.
Accounting for the Effects of Poverty
The CEP report shows the effect that poverty and socioeconomic
circumstance have on student performance. According
to the report, once these factors are controlled for,
students perform at similar levels in public and private
schools.
The National Access Network reported on similar conclusions
drawn by the U.S. Department of Education’s National
Center for Education Statistics, in “Public
and Private School Students Perform Similarly in NAEP
Study” in August 2006. This report used the
Hierarchical Linear Modeling technique to account for
multiple covariates simultaneously, including gender,
race/ethnicity, students with disabilities, English
language learners, computer in the home, eligibility
for free-reduced-price lunch, participation in Title
I, number of books in the home, and number of absences.
Although the NCES supports the findings by the recent
CEP report, the article concluded that “it is
impossible to determine how self-selection in private
schools affects the data.”
Study Methodology
The report was based on analyses of the National Educational
Longitudinal Study (NELS) of 1988-2000. Although, unadjusted
student achievement data from NELS shows private school
advantages for low-income urban youth in the subjects
measured, the CEP study finds that once family background
characteristics are controlled for, low-income students
in public urban high schools usually perform as well
academically as students in private high schools. The
CEP report notes that students enter school with different
achievement levels, and that “research has suggested
again and again that other background characteristics
of students can influence their academic success.”
Recognizing differences in family background, and acknowledging
that family advantage is not purely financial, the study
used regression analyses to break up outcomes into component
parts associated with it. In that way, it was able to
determine how much student achievement was attributable
to academic achievement, socioeconomic status, or cultural
capital.
Although the CEP report accounts for a wider scope
of data, the authors recognize the following methodological
shortcomings and study limitations:
- The study does not attempt to understand family
characteristics longitudinally;
- The study does not include other potential influences
on student achievement and other educational outcomes;
- Many of the family variables are highly correlated
with one another.
In spite of these shortcomings, study results showed
that in comparison to private school students, students
attending traditional public high schools, performed
just as well on achievement tests in math, reading,
science, and history, and were just as likely to attend
college and enjoy job satisfaction or be engaged in
civic activities by age 26.
However, the report notes two exceptions contrary to
its main findings. Firstly, it shows that in general
students in private schools attain higher SAT scores
than public school students. Secondly, it finds that
the students of the few private catholic schools run
by holy orders saw positive academic effects.
Prepared by Marcela Briceno, October 23, 2007
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