The Chronicle: Harvard Study Finds That Students at Private High Schools Have a Clear Edge
Researchers at Harvard University say private high schools give their students an advantage over those who attend public schools. The new findings, presented in a report released today, challenge a recent study by the U.S. Department of Education, which did not find as many statistically significant differences between the effect of private and public schools on student achievement.
The Harvard study found a private-school advantage in 11 of 12 comparisons of students at public and private high schools. In eighth-grade mathematics, for instance, the new study found a private-school advantage of three to seven points on test scores; in reading, the advantage ranged from nine to 13 points.