Article: Study Examines Public, Private Schools

By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, AP Education Writer

Wed Oct 10, 12:29 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Low-income students who attend urban public high schools generally do just as well as private-school students with similar backgrounds, according to a study being released Wednesday.

Students at independent private schools and most parochial schools scored the same on 12th-grade achievement tests in core academic subjects as those in traditional public high schools when income and other family characteristics were taken into account, according to the study by the nonpartisan Center on Education Policy.
While the finding is in line with a handful of recent studies, it's at odds with a larger body of research over the years that has found private-school students outperform those in public schools. Some of that research found a private-school advantage even when income levels are taken into account.
However, the new study not only compared students by income levels but also looked at a range of other family characteristics, such as whether a parent participates in school life.
"When these were taken into account, the private-school advantage went away," the report states.
The study looked at 1,000 low-income students from cities who are part of a nationally representative sample of kids surveyed over a period of years, along with parents and teachers, as part of a federal research effort.
In trying to determine whether the type of high school attended by a student made a difference academically, the new study tried to separate out the effects of income; earlier eighth-grade test scores; parental expectations; whether parents discuss school with their children and whether parents participate in school activities.

Read the rest of this article at this link:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/10/10/study_examines_public_private_schools/
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