Private Schools vs. Public Schools

Private Schools vs. Public Schools    

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/walt_gardners_reality_check/2013/10/public_schools_outperform_private_schools.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS3

“At a time when public schools are the target of unrelenting criticism, the results of a new study come as welcome news ("Are Private Schools Worth It?" The Atlantic, Oct. 18). Using data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Sarah and Christopher Lubienski, professors at the University of Illinois, found that when controlling for demographic factors, public schools are doing a better job academically than private schools.”

The “demographic” the Lubienskis controlled for was affluence.  When the affluence of students in private and public schools is more equal, public schools do a very good job.

Gardner has provided research evidence that poverty does negatively influence learning, just as Diane Ravitch has claimed.  Neither of them suggest that poverty is destiny; only that poverty exists as an influencing factor of learning.  The National Education Testing Service agreed when they developed their list of factors that influence learning.