U.S. Public Schools and Private Schools: Performance and Spending Compared

Number 18 January 1998

U.S. Public Schools and Private Schools:
Performance and Spending Compared

US private schools enrolled approximately 4.7 million students in 1990-1991 compared to the public (government owned and operated) school enrollment of 40.1 million students. Approximately 55 percent of private school enrollment was in Roman Catholic schools, 31 percent was in other religious schools, and 14 percent was in non-sectarian schools.⁽¹⁾

Spending

Private school costs were lower than those of public schools. In 1990-1:⁽²⁾

Total private school costs per student were 30.1 percent less than public school costs.
Private non-elite school costs were estimated to be 42.6 percent less than public school costs.⁽³⁾

If all primary and secondary public education could be provided for at the per student cost of non-elite private schools, $115 billion less would have been spent in 1995.⁽⁴⁾

Inputs

Private schools appear to be at a disadvantage to public schools in a number of respects.⁽⁵⁾

Public school teachers are 50 percent more likely to be certified than private school teachers.
Public school teachers are 55 percent more likely to have advanced degrees than private school teachers.
Public school principals are 50 percent more likely to have advanced degrees than private school principals.
Public school teachers tend to be more experienced. Public school teachers are one-third more likely to have taught 10 years or more than private school teachers.
Salaries for public school teachers average 64 percent higher than those of all private school teachers, 68 percent above those of Roman Catholic school teachers, 87 percent above those of other religious school teachers, and 32 percent above those of non-sectarian private school teachers. Public school teachers' salaries are 22 percent above those of elite private school teachers.
Average salaries for public school principals are nearly double that of private school principals.
The turnover rate of private school teachers is 50 percent greater than that for public school teachers.⁽⁶⁾
A higher percentage of public schools have full time librarians.
Private schools have nearly 1.5 times as much of their enrollment in large cities compared to public schools.
Public schools have twice their enrollment in rural or non-metropolitan areas compared to private schools.

Private schools also appear to be advantaged compared to public schools:

The student-teacher ratios are slightly lower (3 percent) for private schools than for public schools.
Private school teachers express a higher degree of satisfaction.
Private school teachers rate their ability to control teaching practices higher than that of public school teachers in nine of ten measures (in the tenth there is no difference).
Both private school teachers and principals rate the school climate better than that of their public school counterparts in all 10 separate measures.

Educational Performance

Private schools cost less per student on average, yet, performance on standardized tests is higher in private schools than in public schools, although average differences may be in part related to socioeconomic and home factors.⁽⁷⁾

Private school students scored Proficient in the 1994 NAEP reading test at 1.5 times the rate of public schools students (Table #1).⁽⁸⁾ Roman Catholic schools, which can be used as a surrogate for non-elite private schools, produced Proficient scores at 1.4 times or more the rate of public schools. The extent of the difference was described as follows:

... students at all three grades who attended non-public schools (either catholic or other non-public schools) had a significantly higher average proficiency than did students attending public schools.⁽⁹⁾

Table #1 National Assessment of Educational Progress Percentage Scoring At or Above Proficient: Reading (1994)
Type of School	4th Grade	8th Grade	12th Grade
Public	24%	26%	32%
Private	38%	47%	48%
Roman Catholic	36%	47%	44%
Other	41%	48%	56%

Average reading scale scores were higher among private schools but, like public schools, average scores did not reach Proficiency levels (Table #2).

Table #2: National Assessment of Educational Progress Average Scale Scores: Reading (1994)
Type of School	4th Grade	8th Grade	12th Grade
Public	213	258	285
Private	232	280	301
Roman Catholic	230	279	297
Other	235	281	306
Scale Score Required for Proficient	243	283	304

Roman Catholic school students scored at Proficient in the 1992 NAEP mathematics test at 1.2 to 1.5 times the rate of public schools students (Table #3).⁽¹⁰⁾ Other private schools produced Proficient scores at 1.2 to 2.5 times the rate of public schools.

Table #3 National Assessment of Educational Progress Percentage Scoring At or Above Proficient: Mathematics (1992)
Type of School	4th Grade	8th Grade	12th Grade
Public	18%	23%	14%
Private: Roman Catholic	22%	32%	22%
Private: Other	22%	43%	36%

Average scale scores for mathematics were higher for private schools than for public schools but remain below the level required to be Proficient (Table #4).

Table #4 National Assessment of Educational Progress Average Scale Scores: Mathematics (1992)
Type of School	4th Grade	8th Grade	12th Grade
Public	217	266	297
Private: Roman Catholic	227	277	310
Private: Other	226	284	319
Scale Score Required for Proficient	248	294	331

Private school students have a five percent higher graduation rate than public schools students and are 1.5 times as likely to apply for entrance to post-secondary education.⁽¹¹⁾ Private school students are more likely to graduate from college. Roman Catholic school students are twice as likely to graduate from college as public school students, while students of other private schools are 2.5 times as likely to graduate from college. Hispanic and African-American private school students are three times as likely to graduate from college (both Roman Catholic and other private school students).⁽¹²⁾

FOOTNOTES

1. Don McLaughlin, Catherine O'Donnell, and Lynn Ries, Private Schools in the United States: A Statistical Profile, 1990-91 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995).

2. Michael Garet, Tsze H. Chan, and Joel D. Sherman, Estimates of Expenditures for Private K-12 Schools (Washington, DC: Pelavin Research Institute, 1995).

3. Schools not affiliated with the National Association of Independent Schools, which are "known primarily for their academic excellence and their ability to place their students in prestigious colleges." (Excerpt from Don McLaughlin et al.).

4. Assumes private non-exclusive costs per pupil at 42.6 percent below those of public schools.

5. Don McLaughlin et al.

6. Calculated from data in Don McLaughlin et al.

7. Paul L. Williams, Clyde M. Reese, Jay R. Campbell, John Mazzeo, and Gary W. Phillips, 1994 NAEP Reading: A First Look (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995).

8. Paul L. Williams et al.

9. Paul L. Williams et al.

10. Ina V.S. Mullis, John A. Dossey, Eugene H. Owen, and Gary W. Phillips, NAEP 1992 Mathematics Report Card for the Nation and the States (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1993).

11. Digest of Education Statistics, 1994 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1994).

12. Peter Benson and Marilyn Miles McMillen, Private Schools in the United States: A Statistical Profile with Comparisons to Public Schools (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Education Statistics, 1991).