A Defense of Public School

As a public-school kid through-and-through, I have often found it difficult to relate to or understand those who went to private, for-profit primary and secondary schools. Among the claims I have heard from private school advocates over the years, there seems to be a common denominator: an assumption of academic superiority.

Statistically, according to the CAPE (Council for American Private Education), private school students score an average of +90-120 points on the SAT compared to public school students. In ACT terms, this is equal to about +3 points. CAPE claims, falsely, that this proves that private school graduates are more likely to be ready for college work.

Especially as prestigious universities move towards a holistic and extracurricular-focused admissions process, the emphasis that private schools place on test scores and percentages is bound to become meaningless. Standardized testing scores were once seen as the pinnacle of high school success but are likely to become extinct at some point in the future—over 700 colleges have moved to be test optional according to FairTest. Public opinion about standardized testing is changing too: Gallup reported in 2015 that 64% of Americans believe that there is too much emphasis on standardized testing.

But besides being a dated system of evaluating student performance, the emphasis on standardized testing in religious and independent schools shows the inherent classism built seamlessly into private school foundations.

In a study published by University of Virginia researchers, there was no difference in student’s academic, social, psychological, and attainment outcomes between private school and public school when one key factor is done away with: socio-economic status.

In other words, private school does not indicate student success. What does, however, is money.

Education is largely commodified in America, so it is no surprise that ACT reported in 2016 that students with a family income of 80,000 dollars or more score an average of 4.1 points higher on the test than those with an income below. ACT prep courses often carry hefty price tags that low-income families cannot afford.

In public schools, there is more to learn than how to take a test. At Central, diversity is emphasized from the moment a student sets foot in the building. More importantly, however, diversity is present throughout the school. While the vast majority of schools in general teach topics that deal with racial, ethnic and cultural undertones, private schools largely lack physical diversity.

Nearly 60% of private schools in America are classified as virtually all white, meaning that less than 10% of students are of an ethnic or racial minority.

I realize that after a bit of reading, statistics tend to jumble together and become meaningless. Private schooling is not evil in and of itself—the intentions are sometimes good. However good the intentions, however, they are equally lucrative. Though it is my opinion that all education should be free, generally, there is barely any point to spending over 10,000 dollars a year for the equivalent to a few points on the ACT.

While high school performance may be an indicator of college success, it is by no means a fair assessment of intellectual abilities. As more colleges realize and embrace a non-traditional approach to admittance, private schools will be faced with two options: continue operating under established norms or evolve with the ever-changing world. If they are able to flow with the latter, the institutions may have a chance at becoming greater.

At the end of the day, high school is high school. What a student puts into a program, whether that be at a private or public institution, will affect greatly what they get out of it.

However, public schooling should not be discounted. Since its establishment, the public-school system has been meeting the needs of kids from all walks of life. Critiques of public education are not made without merit, but they are made without consideration: in order for the public-school system to work, blame for low test scores must be placed on ever-falling budgets and shrinking salaries for educators rather than on the students themselves.