Public School Peers Research Articles

The Impact of School Service Quality on Student Learning Satisfaction: A Comparative Study of Public and Private High Schools in China

ABSTRACTThis study examined the relationship between school service quality and student learning satisfaction in public and private high schools in China, considering the influence of students' socioeconomic background and household registration location. A comparative study was conducted using a questionnaire administered to 22,588 students in 20 districts in X City in China. Following the structural equation modelling (SEM), the study found that four factors of school service quality (e.g. reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) positively influenced student learning satisfaction in both public and private high schools. Additionally, measurement invariance was maintained across different school types, socioeconomic background and household registration location, which validates the comparability of data across these diverse groups. Latent mean comparison revealed that students from private high schools and those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds experienced greater satisfaction with school services quality and learning experience than their peers in public schools and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The study emphasised the need for educational policies that address these disparities to improve the quality of education in public schools and support students from less advantaged backgrounds. Such policies are crucial for promoting equitable educational opportunities and enhancing overall student satisfaction.

The importance of mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy for mathematics achievement: A comparison between public and independent schools in Sweden

This study investigates the relationships between students’ self-concept, self-efficacy, and achievement in mathematics, considering contextual factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, and immigration background, by using Swedish data from PISA 2003 and 2012. Additionally, these relationships between the two types of schools in Sweden are compared. In Sweden, the school system generally includes municipally-run schools (public) and independent schools (also funded by the state but run privately). Findings indicate a positive correlation between robust mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy and enhanced mathematics performance. Notably, students with better socioeconomic status exhibit heightened levels of mathematical self-concept and self-efficacy, corresponding to superior mathematics outcomes. Gender nuances reveal that, despite superior mathematical performance, girls report less positive self-concept and self-efficacy in mathematics than boys. Surprisingly, mathematics self-concept tends to have a closer association with achievement in independent schools than in public schools, while mathematics self-efficacy influences achievement more in public schools than in independent schools. Besides, independent school students’ mathematics achievement is more associated with socioeconomic status and gender compared to their public-school peers. Immigration background seems to play a more important role in predicting mathematics achievement in public schools than in independent schools.

School Choice, Socioeconomic Status, and Stratified Enrollment in Urban Districts: Evidence From Detroit

Researchers and policymakers have often debated whether urban schools of choice enroll students who are relatively advantaged compared to their traditional public school peers. Existing research has not adequately answered this question due to a reliance on inadequate quantitative measures of socioeconomic status and an emphasis on differences between racial or class groups rather than within them. This mixed-methods study contributes new evidence based on novel survey data and interviews with parents and educational leaders in Detroit. Detroit charter schools enroll significantly fewer students living in deep poverty than neighborhood schools, and selective schools enroll a distinctly advantaged population. These stratified enrollment patterns result from differences in geographic constraints, the influence of social networks, school type reputations, and school practices.

Effectiveness of an Outdoor Education Program with Homeschool Students

Compared to their public-school peers, homeschool students are less physically active, perform worse in health-related physical fitness tests, and have poorer body composition status (Kabiri et al., 2017; Kabiri et al., 2020; Long et al., 2010; Tribby & Berrigan, 2021). The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of an outdoor education program (OEP) on homeschool adolescents’ physical fitness level and life skills. Homeschool students were recruited to participate in a nine-week OEP that included activities such as hiking and mountain biking and a pre- and post-test to assess physical fitness and life skills. Descriptive and inferential (e.g., paired-samples t-tests) statistics were used to analyze the resulting data. Findings reveal that male homeschool students self-report higher levels of life skills and that the OEP had a greater positive impact on males’ fitness outcomes. Recommendations for OEP practitioners include developing OEPs that increase the frequency and decrease the duration of physical activity time and emphasize skills such as emotional control. Recommendations for future research are to utilize large, diverse sample sizes and to consider at-home activities that may influence variables of interest.

Religious Schools, Home Schools, and Gender-Role Beliefs in Adulthood

Background When parents in the United States choose to send their children to religious schools or to home school, they are often motivated, at least in part, by a desire to transmit religious beliefs to their children. These religious beliefs may in some cases promote traditional gender roles that are built into religious tenets, practices, and subcultural identities. Purpose With this in mind, we examine whether religious schools act as distinct sites of religious gender socialization by considering the following questions: (1) do Americans who attend religious high schools and homeschools hold more conservative gender-role beliefs later in life compared to their public school peers? and (2) does attending a religious school have a differential effect on gender beliefs for men or women? Methods We use data from the Cardus Education Study—the largest nationally representative survey that includes religious high school and home school graduates as well as measures of religiosity—and logistic regression to explore the gender-role beliefs of 24–39 year olds who graduated from conservative Protestant, Catholic, public, and home schools. Results Graduates of the different religious school sectors we examined varied in their tendencies to hold more traditional gender-role beliefs. Specifically, we find that graduates of conservative Protestant schools and home schools held more conservative gender-role beliefs than graduates of other sectors. In contrast, Catholic school graduates—particularly female graduates—held more egalitarian beliefs compared to the other sectors. Conclusions and Implications In light of these findings, we discuss potential mechanisms within school environments that may contribute to the enactment of gender and religion. We extend empirical and theoretical knowledge about gender socialization, an area of critical importance given its ability to influence people's aspirations, choices, and life outcomes as well as social norms and policies.

School vouchers for greater educational equity

Providing public funding to parents to pay children's tuition at private and religious schools has been a matter of debate over the last three decades based on claims such as the lack of accountability in private schools, an increase in segregation, and the fact that it contradicts the principle of the separation between church and state. Such concerns are legitimate, but they need to be discussed considering the new literature that proves the efficacy of private schools, both religious and non-religious, in terms of student achievement, test results, and graduation rates. A thorough look at the test results revealed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) over the last decade indicates that students' scores in private schools are higher than their peers in public schools. NAEP results and the recent empirical studies conducted in states like Florida, Wisconsin, and Washington DC confirmed that the voucher system works well. This information provides compelling evidence that policymakers need to review the private school voucher policies. Hence, this article highlights the efficacy of school vouchers based on recent empirical studies and the academic results of the students enrolled in school?voucher programs. The available data assures that there is no point in depriving students of their right to choose private or religious schools as their peers who choose charter and magnet schools.

Achievement Growth in K-8 Catholic Schools Using NWEA Data

Using a national sample of kindergarten to eighth grade students from Catholic and public schools who took MAP Growth assessments, we examine achievement growth over time between sectors. Our findings suggest that while Catholic school students score higher in math and reading than public school students on average, they also enter each school year at a higher level. Public school students close this gap to some degree during the school year. Additionally, these patterns varied by age and subject. Catholic school students in the earlier grades show less growth in both reading and math during the academic year compared to their public school peers, but in middle school growth patterns in math were comparable across sectors.

Dollars and Sense: Calculating the Fiscal Effects of the Louisiana Scholarship Program

ABSTRACT After recent experimental evidence suggesting that private school students using the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) performed worse than their public school peers in math, some legislators discussed cutting the program as a way to reduce state education expenditures in Louisiana, spinning it as a way to save taxpayer money. While cutting the program would save money by reducing voucher expenditures, it would also increase state education costs by displacing students from private schools into district schools. This study provides a range of estimates of the short-run net fiscal effect of canceling the LSP. In our most plausible scenario, we find a negative impact on the state budget unless at least 21% of current voucher users stayed in their private schools and paid tuition without the benefit of the voucher. In the projections that assume 10% of students remain in private schools without the program, eliminating the LSP would increase state education expenditures by approximately $6.3 million the first year, or roughly $900 per displaced student.

Private School Choice and Crime: Evidence From Milwaukee

ObjectivesThis study aims to determine if private school choice reduces the proclivity of students to commit crimes as adults.MethodsWe examine crime rates for young adults who experienced Milwaukee's citywide voucher program as high school students compared to matched public school peers using unique data collected as part of a longitudinal evaluation of the program.ResultsWe find that mere exposure to private schooling through a voucher is associated with lower rates of criminal activity, but the relationship is not robust to different analytic samples. Students who used the program through 12th grade, however, were much less likely to have criminal records than their public school peers. These results are apparent when controlling for a robust set of student demographics, test scores, and parental characteristics.ConclusionsWe conclude that merely being exposed to private schooling for a short time through a voucher program may not have a significant impact on criminal activity, though persistently attending a private school through a voucher program can decrease subsequent crime rates.

Do Homeschooled Students Lack Opportunities to Acquire Cultural Capital? Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey of American Households

ABSTRACTExperiences at school may create valuable opportunities for children to acquire cultural capital. One concern for homeschooled children is that they may be deprived of these opportunities. However, homeschool families may enable opportunities for their children to acquire cultural capital through participation in activities outside of formal instructional time. This study investigates this possibility by comparing cultural and family activities between homeschooled students and their public school peers. The analyses use data from a nationally representative survey (National Household Education Survey, 2016) containing a substantial number of respondents who homeschool their children (n = 552). Descriptive results indicated that formal instruction in music, arts, literature, and foreign language is lacking in nearly 40% of homeschool households. Yet, relative to public school families, homeschool families report statistically higher participation in cultural and family activities. While patterns observed in this study are only descriptive, overall evidence suggests that homeschool families may provide opportunities for their children to acquire cultural capital through greater participation in cultural and family activities.

Do You Get Cream with Your Choice? Characteristics of Students Who Moved into or Out of the Louisiana Scholarship Program

Private school choice programs often are accused of failing to serve disadvantaged students. Critics claim that participating private schools “skim the cream off the top” by admitting only the best students and “push out” students who are the most difficult to teach. This study tests these student selection hypotheses in the context of the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP). We find LSP applicants are less advantaged than their public school peers regarding their family socioeconomic status and initial test scores. No consistent evidence indicates that the LSP private schools are “skimming the cream” or “pushing out” students based on their family social status or initial test scores. However, students with disabilities are less likely than students without disabilities to use a voucher initially. Students who were placed in LSP private schools that were farther from their homes or that serve a larger minority population are more likely to leave their LSP schools than LSP students placed in schools closer to their homes or that serve smaller minority populations. LSP students with better educational resources in their residential public school district are more likely to leave the LSP than students with worse educational resources. Finally, the LSP students still using vouchers after three years are more likely to have a low family income, more likely to be African American, and more likely to be female than the population of non-applicants to the program.

More Graduates, Less Criminals? The Economic Impacts of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

Although an abundance of research indicates that private schooling can benefit individual children through higher test scores, the effects on society are less clear. We monetize and forecast the social impacts of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) in the United States. We use existing literature on the impacts of the MPCP on criminal activity and graduation rates. Between 2016 and 2035, students who use a voucher in the MPCP will generate additional economic benefits of $473 million associated with higher graduation rates, and $26 million associated with fewer felonies and misdemeanors, relative to their traditional public school peers.

Parental Involvement in High Choice Deindustrialized Cities: A Comparison of Charter and Public Schools in Detroit

Spurring parental involvement has been a core objective of charter school reform. This study compares for-profit-managed and nonprofit-managed charter schools and their public school peers in Detroit on two indicators of parental involvement. Nonprofit-managed charter schools generated higher rates of general parental involvement, net of demographic, school, and self-selection controls. Public schools, however, elicited greater parent participation in school decision making, using the same controls. Although differences in school strategies may be underlying these results, self-selection mechanisms also appear to be salient, underscoring variation in school choice participation among demographically similar families in high choice deindustrialized cities.

“No Excuses” charter schools for increasing math and literacy achievement in primary and secondary education: a systematic review

“No Excuses” charter schools for increasing math and literacy achievement in primary and secondary education: a systematic review

Nutritional status of schoolchildren aged 7-10 years enrolled in public and private schools of Cascavel, Paraná, Brazil

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the prevalence of malnutrition, overweight, and obesity in schoolchildren aged 7-10 years from public and private schools of Cascavel, Paraná, Brazil. Methods: Demographic information (sex, age, and type of school) and anthropometric measurements (body mass and height) were collected from 2,180 students (1,693 from public schools and 487 from private schools). The nutritional status of the children was classified according to their body mass index Z-score. Results: The prevalences of malnutrition, overweight, and obesity were 6.1%, 9.8% and 11.1%, respectively. Girls were 15.9% more likely to be malnourished than boys. As for overweight, 10-year-olds were 1.53 times more likely to be overweight than 7-year-olds. Children from private schools were 1.63 times more likely to be overweight and 2.88 times more likely to be obese than their public school peers. Conclusion: The prevalence of malnutrition and excess weight (overweight and obesity) were high, and girls were more likely to be malnourished. Ten-year-olds and children from private schools were the most affected by overweight and obesity.

From the Delta Banks to the Upper Ranks

Knowledge is Power Program Delta College Preparatory School (KIPP DCPS), an open-enrollment charter school,1 opened in 2002 in Helena, Arkansas. KIPP DCPS students have consistently outperformed their peers from neighboring districts on year-end student achievement scores, and KIPP’s national reputation led Arkansas lawmakers to exempt KIPP from the state’s charter school cap. Yet, skeptics of KIPP in particular, and charter schools in general, voiced a concern that the apparent KIPP advantage in student achievement may have been due to the prior academic ability of the students who selected into KIPP rather than to the KIPP school itself. Furthermore, some KIPP critics have argued that student attrition at KIPP schools accounts for the apparent KIPP advantage. Until now, no prior study has rigorously compared performance of KIPP students with traditional public school peers on matched observable academic and demographic variables or carefully considered student attrition rates at KIPP DCPS. Here, we begin by summarizing prior evaluations of KIPP schools nationally. Next, we carefully examine student attrition from 2005 through 2011, and we find that KIPP DCPS attrition resembles that found in nearby traditional public schools. Finally, using regression models that control demographic and prior academic indicators, we find that KIPP DCPS students gain significantly more each year on standardized assessments than do their matched peers. These results are important as nearly all prior empirical work on KIPP schools has been conducted in urban settings. Despite the fact that many rural students struggle academically or attend struggling schools, we know relatively little about the potential benefits of No Excuses charter schools in rural areas, such as KIPP DCPS.

Propensity Score Stratification Using Multilevel Models to Examine Charter School Achievement Effects

The rapid expansion of charter schools reflects a growing interest in education reform and school turnaround efforts across the United States. However, national research on charter school performance remains inconclusive. Of particular debate is the impact of transferring from a traditional public school to a charter school on student achievement and growth. We employ propensity score stratification and multilevel models to balance key covariates between treatment and control groups of a cross-state sample of students, which provides a more complex picture of charter school achievement effects in a quasi-experimental context. We find that charter school students perform consistently better on standardized mathematic achievement measures, and some students grow faster than their traditional public school peers, although the differences are modest. Furthermore, our application of propensity score stratification using multilevel models reduces selection bias which arises from confounding variables and improves the accuracy of charter school effect estimations.

Mathematic Achievement of Canadian Private School Students

Very little Canadian research has examined the academic achievement of private school students. Data from The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 were used to examine the achievement of private school students. The study found that private school students outperformed their public school peers. In addition, the students’ morale, motivation, interest in mathematics, expected education, effort invested in the PISA test, and socioeconomic status were significantly and positively related to their academic performance. Surprisingly, the cost of their tuition fees, reported hours spent on math homework, sense of belonging, and higher ratio of instructional time on mathematics were significantly, but negatively, related to the students’ math performance.

Comparison of Neuropsychological Performance between Students from Public and Private Brazilian Schools

Neuropsychological assessment reveals that certain cognitive changes that take place during the neural development process may be associated with biopsychosocial issues. A substantial body of research has focused on cognitive development in children and adults, but few such studies have been carried out on adolescents. Therefore, research into the processing of neuropsychological functions in adolescents, taking into account the role of major socio-cultural factors such as school type (public vs. private), is highly relevant. The present study sought to assess whether differences in neuropsychological development exist between adolescent students of public (government-funded) and private schools. A total of 373 grade-matched students between the ages of 12 and 18, 190 from public schools and 183 from private schools, took part in the study. All subjects had no self-reported neurologic or psychiatric conditions and sensory disorders. The NEUPSILIN Brazilian Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery was administered to this sample. Comparison of mean scores (one-way ANCOVA with socioeconomic score and age as covariates) showed that adolescents attending private schools generally outperformed their public-school peers in tasks involving sustained attention, memory (working and visual), dictated writing, and constructional and reflective abilities. We conclude that school type should be taken into account during standardization of neuropsychological assessment instruments for adolescent and, probably, child populations.

Turkish Children's Bender-Gestalt Test Performance: Differences in Public and Private School Children

The present study was undertaken to provide data on the Bender-Gestalt test for children aged 5 to 11 in Turkey. Although it is well documented that sociocultural factors are important in cognitive evaluations, the effects of type of school and differing educational opportunities provided by these schools on the Bender-Gestalt test have not been previously investigated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of age, sex, and school type on Bender-Gestalt performance. The test was individually administered to 484 children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. The children were enrolled in either public or private schools. Koppitz's Developmental Scoring System was utilized. The results indicated that older children performed with fewer errors. Girls performed with fewer errors than boys. Finally, as expected, private school children outperformed their public school peers. The results are discussed with respect to the importance of taking into account various educational factors in utilizing commonly used tests.