College Success Among Students Graduating from Public and Private High Schools

Abstract

This study compares the college freshman grade point averages of public and private high school graduates attending a “more selective” private university. Though graduates of public high schools had slightly lower SAT scores than graduates of private high schools, their end-of-freshman-year grade point averages were somewhat higher across academic programs. Results contradict the simplistic assumption that private high schools better prepare students for college than do public schools but tell us title about what would occur in more open educational markets.