Private, Public, Charter, Homeschooling: Which Is Best for Your Child?

Does the type of school your child attends really matter?

Source: Olia Danilevich/Pexels

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Parents who are fortunate enough to have a choice in their child’s schooling may feel overwhelmed by the choices. There are public schools, private schools, charter schools— or you could even homeschool your child. So how does a parent make this choice? Which of these options results in the best outcome for students?

Private Schools versus Public Schools

About 10 percent of children in the United States attend private school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Yet, private school requires a significant investment for most families, so many parents wonder if private school is worth the cost. How does a private school education really compare to a public school education?

Attending a private school is associated with many advantages, including enhanced academic ability, social skills, more positive psychological adjustment, and enhanced long-term success, yet this effect seems to disappear when controlling for family factors such as income.  In other words, the advantages associated with private schools are likely related to wealthier and more educated parents being more likely to send their children to private schools rather than private schools themselves. Previous research also finds that when low-income public school students are given “vouchers” to attend private schools, their academic achievement seems to decline, although this effect may depend on the quality of the private school.  In addition, observational research finds no differences in the quality of instruction, teacher-student interaction, or overall emotional climate between public and private school classrooms.

Translation: Private school in general does not provide an advantage over public school. However, this does not mean there are no differences between your local private and public school and you should always make the best choice based on your family’s unique situation and values and your child’s individual needs

Charter Schools versus Typical Public Schools

Some school districts also provide charter schools, presenting parents and caregivers with yet another option to consider. Charter schools are public schools that are independently operated so they do not have to follow the same rules and regulations as public schools. Charter schools can often follow a specialized curriculum that is individualized to their students. Parents must apply to these schools as they would with a private school, yet they do not need to pay tuition to attend the school. Charter schools serve about 8 percent of public school students in the United States.

Research finds that students in charter schools show little difference in terms of academic performance when compared to children in typical public schools. Research also indicates that teachers in charter schools tend to be less experienced, less likely to be credentialed, and less likely to have an advanced degree when compared to teachers in typical public schools. However, some research finds that charter schools are associated with other positive outcomes, such as better attendance, improved behavior, and increased rates of high school graduation and college attendance.

Translation: There is currently little evidence that charter schools in general provide a significant advantage to children. However, it is very important to remember that this research examines the impacts of charter schools on average so does not address whether your local charter school is superior to your local public school.

What About Homeschooling?   

Homeschooling has grown in popularity in recent years. In 2019, about 2.5 million students in the United States were homeschooled. This number grew to 3.7 million in 2021 and then to 4.3 million in 2022. This dramatic increase was likely in part fueled by the pandemic and remote learning during this time.

The most common reason cited for homeschooling (before the pandemic) was concern about the local school environment, including safety and negative peer pressure. Many parents also choose to homeschool due to dissatisfaction with the educational quality of local schools, or for religious reasons.

However, many parents and caregivers considering homeschooling may be especially concerned about how homeschooling might impact their child’s academic progress and social development. Does the research find any differences between children who were homeschooled versus children in conventional school?

Academic Performance

Homeschooled students tend to score higher on tests of academic skills when compared to children in public schools across most studies. However, it is difficult to draw any conclusions from these studies since most do not control for important family demographic factors and compare self-selected homeschooling families’ test scores (from tests proctored by parents) to national averages. Interestingly, children in a “structured” homeschool program — that is, a homeschool program with organized lesson plans — tend to score higher on academic tests than children from conventional schools, while children in “unstructured” homeschool environments without organized lesson plans tend to score lower than children in conventional schools.

Social Skills

The findings on social skills seem to be more mixed. Some studies have found no difference in social skills between children in homeschooled environments versus conventional schools, some studies have found that homeschooled children score higher on measures of social ability, and some have found that homeschooled children score lower on overall social skills. Not surprisingly, homeschooled students who have had more opportunities for peer interactions tend to show improved social skills.

Long-Term Success

Most studies find that homeschooled children tend to have higher college GPAs than children from conventional schools. However, most studies have found no difference between homeschooled and conventional students in college graduation rates.  It is important to note that homeschooled students are less likely to attend competitive four-year colleges. Children who are homeschooled may also be more likely to work in a lower-paying job in adulthood.

Limitations

It is important to note that this research is difficult to interpret because families that choose to homeschool are different from families who do not in many other ways — for example, they may have parents with higher income or educational levels and their parents are likely more involved in their child’s life — and these factors likely contribute to the results as well. For instance, we cannot conclude that homeschooling will improve your child’s test scores since homeschooled children may have more educated mothers and it may be the mother’s educational level that drives the higher test scores, not homeschooling itself.

Translation

We do not have clear evidence that homeschooling provides an advantage or disadvantage in terms of academic or social skills. However, it may be important to keep in mind that children in structured homeschool and with more peer interaction opportunities may have the best outcomes.  

Overall Translation

Most of the research on school choices is very limited because the type of families that choose different school types are very different so it is unclear whether it is those family factors or the school choice that causes the differences between groups. This research also does not address whether a particular school is a fit for your individual child. When making a school choice for your child, you should critically evaluate all available options and make the choice that you believe to be best based on the quality of schools in your region, your family’s individual situation and values, and your child’s unique needs.

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Welcome to the Parenting Translator newsletter! I am Dr. Cara Goodwin, a licensed psychologist with a PhD in child psychology and mother to four children (currently a newborn, 3-year-old, 5-year-old, and 8-year-old). I specialize in taking all of the research that is out there related to parenting and child development and turning it into information that is accurate, relevant, and useful for parents! I recently turned these efforts into a non-profit organization since I believe that all parents deserve access to unbiased and free information. This means that I am only here to help YOU as a parent so please send along any feedback, topic suggestions, or questions that you have! You can also find me on Instagram @parentingtranslator, on TikTok @parentingtranslator, and my website (www.parentingtranslator.com).

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