Public Schools vs. Private Schools
Public Schools vs. Private Schools
A good education is an essential part of a child’s development. Today, parents have a choice in their child’s education and can evaluate both public and private schools. Although both public and private schools provide education and opportunities for students, parents should evaluate the differences and choose the option that best suits their child and families’ needs. In this paper, I will compare and contrast five major areas that relate to public and private schools including class size, cost, curriculum, services, and teachers. One of the first major differences between public and private schools is class size. Public schools follow state and federal guidelines in regard to class size. Most states provide guidelines for each particular grade level with a recommendation for the class size. Generally, lower grade levels (Kindergarten through third grade) have smaller class sizes but if you live in an urban area or large school district this is not always possible (Great Schools Staff, n.d.). In the older grades, the class sizes tend to be much larger than the private schools. In the private school setting, class sizes tend to be smaller since the schools can be selective in their admission and do not have to follow state regulations. Private schools use this as a selling point to justify tuition costs. The exceptions to this rule are religiously affiliated private schools (Great Schools Staff, n.d.). Generally, the religious private schools do not have small class sizes. Class size is only one option that should be considered when selecting your child’s school. The second difference between private and public schools is cost. Public schools cannot charge tuition. Public schools are funded by the state through tax money and must accept all students (Great Schools Staff, n.d.). Private schools do charge tuition and that tuition varies among the schools. Private schools do not receive tax money and are
A good education is an essential part of a child’s development. Today, parents have a choice in their child’s education and can evaluate both public and private schools. Although both public and private schools provide education and opportunities for students, parents should evaluate the differences and choose the option that best suits their child and families’ needs. In this paper, I will compare and contrast five major areas that relate to public and private schools including class size, cost, curriculum, services, and teachers. One of the first major differences between public and private schools is class size. Public schools follow state and federal guidelines in regard to class size. Most states provide guidelines for each particular grade level with a recommendation for the class size. Generally, lower grade levels (Kindergarten through third grade) have smaller class sizes but if you live in an urban area or large school district this is not always possible (Great Schools Staff, n.d.). In the older grades, the class sizes tend to be much larger than the private schools. In the private school setting, class sizes tend to be smaller since the schools can be selective in their admission and do not have to follow state regulations. Private schools use this as a selling point to justify tuition costs. The exceptions to this rule are religiously affiliated private schools (Great Schools Staff, n.d.). Generally, the religious private schools do not have small class sizes. Class size is only one option that should be considered when selecting your child’s school. The second difference between private and public schools is cost. Public schools cannot charge tuition. Public schools are funded by the state through tax money and must accept all students (Great Schools Staff, n.d.). Private schools do charge tuition and that tuition varies among the schools. Private schools do not receive tax money and are
References: Great Schools Staff, Initials. (n.d.). Private versus public. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/find-a-school/defining-your- ideal/59-private-vs-public-schools.gs