Private schools better than Public?
A few weeks ago, Andrew Coulson reviewed 25 years of research on education markets around the world for the Cato Institute, and concluded that “the private sector outperforms the public sector in the overwhelming majority of cases.” Furthermore, he said:
…that margin of superiority is greatest when the freest and most market-like private schools are compared to the least open and least competitive government systems (i.e., those resembling a typical U.S. public school system). Given the breadth, consistency, relevance, and decisiveness of this body of evidence, the implications for U.S. education policy are profound.
But now Clive Belfield, at the City University of New York, has reviewed the review, and decided that Coulson’s claims are “problematic.”
This kind of debate matters to some St. Louisans, as voucher and tuition tax credit proponents are again ramping up for the new legislative cycle — a movement that assumes that a free market is superior to public education alone.
Beware. Enter this debate at your own risk. Research on the subject is released yearly, if not monthly.
But it is unclear if we are closer to knowing which type of “market” is better.
This is such a personal, subjective subject. In my case, three of my children when to highly rated private schools for high school. They all seemed to get the education necessary for all to go on to get college degrees and now have successful careers. My youngest son began at private high school only to do progressively worse as his freshman year went on. When meeting with his teachers and administrators of the private school, his mother and I were told he just “needs to try harder” and just “needs a kick in the butt”. This was a kid who did two and a half to three hours of homework every night. The next year he expressed a desire to go to the public school in our area and as parents we assented. That summer we had him tested at his pediatrician for learning disabilities and was found to have ADD. Mild medication seemed to help and the next year he began to do much better in school. He will graduate this year with a 3.5 gpa, up from a .07 gpa after his freshman year. In this case I would have to say the public school was much more sensative and responsive to the needs of the individual student. At the private school if you “fit the mold” you will do well, but if you don’t you will be quickly left behind and left out.