If you have a school-aged child, you might already be considering a private school option. While the public school system is functioning quite well in many areas of the country, sending your child to a private school is a possible option that you might not have considered before.
Many parents from all around the country are finding that a private school education is just what their child needed in order to excel. When they way all of the options, many parents consider three criteria for deciding whether or not they want to make the investment in a private school for their child. Those three criteria are class size, safety, and academic standards.
1. Class size
Among the many benefits of private school education is the fact that most of the private schools around the country are small. In 86% of schools that are private, the student body numbers only 300 students. This means that the class sizes from preschool through
high school will be significantly smaller than public schools.
In private schools, the average class size is 12.5 students per class compared with 15.4 students per class in the public schools. Studies on education have come back time and again showing that smaller class size gives the teacher more individual time with each student and this definitely leads to better academic performance.
2. Safety
In a recent Fraser Institute study, 72% of parents surveyed felt that their child was safe in a
private school. Because of the smaller class sizes and the desire to stay in a competitive environment that comes with the private school experience, safety is not a large concern for most parents.
3. Academic standards
According to significant data from NCES, more private school students go on to attend college than do those that attend public schools. Only 57% of public school students go on to attend college, but if young people obtain a private education, that number jumps up to 88% who go to college.
In addition, if you look at all of the data obtained from placement tests in the Untied States, the scores are significantly better in the private sector than they are in the public school system.
Education is important. You would be hard-pressed to find a parent who would tell you that they don’t care about giving their child a quality education experience. The public school system in the United States is doing the best it can with what it has. Some areas of the country are better than others when it comes to public school, but a private education is an option in virtually every part of the country.
Private schools offer a number of different advantages over private schools. The class sizes are smaller, the schools are often quite a bit safer, and the academic standards are, by many measures, more rigorous than public schools. If you are a parent with a school-aged child, it might not be a bad idea to look into a private school option.
