School choice critics often suggest that only public schools can create public good. But a new education survey finds private school students are not only more likely to graduate from college and earn advanced degrees, but are as civic minded as their public school counterparts.
The study, “Private Schools for the Public Good,” released by Cardus, a Christian think tank from Canada, surveyed 1,500 U.S. high school graduates, ages 24 to 39. The research team, which included several professors from the University of Notre Dame, surveyed graduates from different education sectors, including public schools, home education and private schools, both faith-based and non-religious. Since private school students tend to be more affluent than public school students, the researchers also attempted to make controls for demographic differences between sectors.
The survey found graduates of private schools reported higher satisfaction from their school experience. They were also more likely to feel their high school prepared them well for college and career. Graduates of non-religious private schools felt the most satisfied with their education experience (65 percent were highly satisfied) compared to all other educational options, including public school graduates (46 percent).
Among other findings, science education in private schools appears on average to be at least as strong as in public schools. Catholic school students were likely to take more math and science courses than their public school counterparts; students at evangelical Protestant schools took about the same number.
Private school students are also more likely to graduate from college. According to the survey, 77 percent of nonreligious private school graduates, 75 percent of Catholic school graduates and 64 percent of Protestant school graduates attended and graduated from college, compared to 57 percent of the public school graduates surveyed. Students attending non-religious private schools were the most likely to obtain professional or doctoral degrees. All private school sectors outpaced public schools when controlling for family differences.
Interestingly, graduates of Protestant private schools were more likely to attend less selective colleges and universities, more likely to study the humanities and less likely to seek a science occupation compared with non-religious and Catholic school graduates. The authors found Protestant graduates to be “more willing to make personal sacrifices and to pursue work that may not be valued as highly in our society,” such as “social work, health care and education.”
Regarding civic engagement, graduates of all sectors were equally likely to donate to charity and volunteer. Graduates across all sectors were also equally likely to take foreign languages and feel an obligation to participate in politics through voting. Sixty-five percent of graduates of non-religious private schools reported taking leadership positions in non-religious community organizations compared to an average of 50 percent across other education sectors.
The authors also found no evidence that “private schools isolate their students from social diversity.” (It’s worth noting that Patrick Wolf at the University of Arkansas found private school students were more likely to be politically tolerant and volunteer than their counterparts in public schools.)
The authors conclude “the evidence strongly shows that private schools and public schools do not differ significantly when it comes to involvement in civic life” and that “private school graduates are much more likely than their public school peers to reflect positively on their high school experience and to consider it crucial in preparing them for their adult lives.”
The full report can be here.
