In a 2007 study, "Are Private High Schools Better Academically Than Public High Schools?" the Center on Education Policy (CEP) found that once key family background characteristics were considered, public high school students do as well as private school students. "When we controlled for other factors, family background was the biggest determinator of how a kid was going to do," says Diane Stark Rentner, Deputy Director of the CEP.
The report found that:
1. Private high school students scored no better on achievement tests in math, reading, science and history than their counterparts in public high schools.
2. Private high school students were no more likely to attend college than their public high school counterparts.
3. By age 26, young adults who had attended private school enjoyed no more job satisfaction than those who had attended public high schools and were no more likely to be engaged in civic activities.
The study did identify two exceptions: Kids who attend private school had higher SAT scores. According to the study, "independent private school students do not learn any more than other students as measured on achievement tests, but they do perform better on the SATs." CEP believes this "could mean that students in private schools tend to have higher IQs (aptitude tests are a better measure of IQ than achievement tests) or that private schools are better at honing students' test-taking skills (on which
SAT scores are somewhat dependent)." This, in turn, gave private school students an advantage getting into elite colleges.
Catholic schools run by holy orders did have some positive academic effects, such as slightly higher achievement levels in reading, math and history.
我仔细阅读了您提供的这个链接的文章,最后一句话深深的触动了我:In the end, no matter what school you choose, what's most important to remember is that you, the parent, will have an enormous influence on your child's educational outcomes.
你接触了多少美国大学生就敢得出“公立学校的学生到了大学都不知道东南西北,都跟在私立学校的屁股后面跑“?未免太盲人摸象了吧?你美国的同事因为他们家里没有钱没送孩子读私立学校不代表其他上公立学校的家庭没钱,你去Lexington high 去看看很多学生的父母是哈佛、MIT的教授甚至是美国科学院的院士。佛吉尼亚州的Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology的学生家长有一次给学校捐几百万的。去那些好公立高中的上学的初始一次性投资比上私校还大,你可以去看看象麻州的Lexington,Harvard,Western这些有好高中镇镇的房子都多少钱。