Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Trends in Scores by Type of School

Trends in 4th Grade NAEP mathematics and reading average scores, by type of school:

Trend in Mathematics Scores


The Differences in Public vs. Private Education

  • Academic Reputation
  • College Preparation
  • School Size
  • Class Size
  • Safety Reputation
  • Special Programs
  • Costs
  • Religious and Moral Instruction
  • Location
  • Ideology


Public Schools Outperform Private Schools in Math Instruction

Education professors Sarah and Chris Lubienski have found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on standardized math tests, tanks to two key factors: certified math teachers, and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum


Click here to read the full article

Public vs. Private Schools



Frames: The frames found within this NY Times Editorial is one that completely disapproves of the state of education in the United States. The author of this editorial makes a great point in saying that, "Instead of homing in on teacher training and high standards, things that distinguish effective schools from poor ones, many reformers have embraced the view that the public schools are irreparably broken and that students of all kinds need to be given vouchers to attend private or religious schools at public expense" (2006). In stating this as so, the author is saying that the general public believes that private or religious schools are the answers to better education. He continues by stating that public schools are not doing a great job in educating the young minds of our country, with proof from the results of national standardized tests. These same tests, however, show not only public schools suffering academically, but "public, private, charter, and religious school all suffer from the wide fluctuations in quality and effectiveness." He believes the overarching problem in the United States to be, "on average, American schoolchildren are performing at mediocre levels in reading, math, and science- wherever they attend school."

What's Left Out: There is a statement made by a public-school teacher, however, there are no comments made by anyone from a private school. It would be more interesting to have heard arguments from both public and private schools as to what could be the problem for these mediocre performances. 

Ideologies: The main ideology touched upon in this editorial is that the educators, boards of education, and the government, are not doing their jobs correctly and effectively. The author strongly believes, and makes clear to readers, that people are missing the point entirely in thinking that private school is the answer to poor grades. This reflects the way our society thinks: that money has the potential to solve all problems.