You live in a district where the public schools are generally considered excellent. You’re lucky enough; however, you may wonder if your children will have a better outcome in private school. You’ve found yourself wondering: is private school really worth it? The expense associated with private school can add up quickly, especially if you have more than one child enrolled in school. If they’re able to get the kind of education you want for them from a public school, or is the additional preparation worth it to send them to private school anyway?
Decide why you’re sending them. When it comes time to apply for college, most schools won’t care as much about what type of school your child attended. While the school your child attends will impact academic performance, Colleges and Universities will generally assess applicants based on grades, extracurricular activities and commitments, and test scores. There are other reasons you may want to consider private schools as well. You might want to control your child’s exposure to certain types of behaviors that are more prevalent in public schools. Since your child will spend a significant amount of time at school, you may want your child in a school that espouses a set of values that match yours. You may want to select a school based on potential peer groups. In all of these instances, sending the cost associates with sending your child to private school may be worth the effort and expense.
Check out the test scores for both public and private school students. While it is difficult to compare the academic rigor of two schools, test scores will generally the truth about the performance of students in both schools. Rigorous and well thought out programs will generally produce students that score higher on standardized testing–and if high scores are your goal, you can more easily choose the school that will meet your child’s needs.
Look at what’s offered for special needs students. Every parent wants to believe that their child is someone special, but some parents know that their child has a need to be addressed in a specific way. In public schools, it is up to the district to decide which students will receive additional services. Private schools may offer very specialized services for students, or none at all. If you know that your child needs a specific set of services in order to achieve academic success, make sure that the private school you have in mind will offer those services. In some cases, the public school may be able to provide your child with more services or accommodations. In others, the private school may be better equipped to handle your child’s needs.
Look at student outcomes. In the end, the most important product of any school is the student outcome. How does the outcome of a student graduating from your local public school compare the the student graduating from your local private schools? Which one do you want your child to be like? If you believe the alumni product of both institutions to be similar, you may not need to spend money on private education. If you believe the private school alumni
From elementary school through high school, your child’s academic success is based in part on the school they’ve chosen. You can ask plenty of questions about the libraries, the quality of the teachers who have been chosen to educate the young minds at a particular institution, and the test scores achieved by school alumni. Ultimately, the best school for your child is the one that you feel will best fit their needs, desires, and talents. Looking into sending your child to a private school in Houston, Texas? Contact us today to learn more about the benefits we could offer your child.