Private Schools Lack Transparency

Mark Twain once said that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” In an uncertain economy, many private schools are not practicing full disclosure. This lack of transparency is seen in the publication of statistical data relevant to graduation rates, testing, teacher-student ratios, and award recognition.
Private School Graduation Rates
Graduation rates in non-public schools tend to be high. This allows schools to advertise that a high percentage of seniors, often the entire senior class, graduate and go on to college. There are several reasons for this. Private schools frequently weed out failing students before the senior year. Some schools maintain strict pass/fail policies so that students in the senior year can only graduate if they pass all of their courses.
Non-public schools often possess resources not available in the public sector such as remedial tutoring. In many cases, parents of failing students represent a higher socio-economic class than comparable parents with students in the public schools. Parents of private school students, by virtue of their greater affluence, can afford highly priced remedial and tutoring programs.
Class Size and Teacher-Student Ratios
When compiling teacher-student ratios, some private schools include all school personnel in their calculations. A true ratio should only include instructional staff. Additionally, class size statistics can be deceiving, even if only instructional staffs are factored into the data. Some classes may only have a dozen students or less, such as an advanced placement class.
Other classes, like a general English or History class, may be as high as twenty-five or more. This is often seen in foreign language programs. Exotic languages like Chinese or Russian will attract far fewer students than Spanish.
Testing Data and True Non-Public Comparisons
In public high schools, not every student sits for the SAT or ACT exams, because many students are not committed to college at the point of graduation. Private schools, however, are college preparatory institutions. Hence, almost every junior will sit for college entrance exams. Thus, using comparative data to “sell” a private school experience based on non-comparable statistics is disingenuous.
The same argument can be made for state mandated graduation and end-of-course testing. In most cases, private schools do not participate in these tests, although in cases where they do, their students far surpass those in the public school. The reasons, however, point to the socio-economic mix in both types of schools. For example, in the most recent statistical report published by the National Catholic Education Association, almost 70% of students in Catholic high schools where white; blacks accounted for 8.4%.
Honors and Recognitions
For several years, the Catholic High School Honor Roll published a list of the “top fifty” Catholic High Schools in America. The criteria included Catholic Identity, civics education, and academic excellence. Many schools in the top fifty used the distinction to promote enrollment. In the school year 2007-2008 there were 1,213 Catholic Secondary Schools (in 2008-2009 this rose to 1,220). Yet, according to the Denver Catholic Register (November 9, 2008) only 50% of all Catholic high schools participated in the first five years of the Honor Roll. Further, the Honor Roll made its decisions based on data submitted by the participating schools: there were no school visits or independent corroboration.
Private schools are far more apt to utilize such honors in efforts to bolster enrollment numbers. Additionally, non-public schools earn high marks from accreditation associations. These schools, however, budget large sums to complete elaborate publications designed to awe members of the visiting committee. They also possess the administrative clout to mandate full staff compliance in order to ensure the highest possible ratings.
The Absolute Need for Transparency
Many non-public schools are religious-based institutions. Any lack of transparency mocks the mission statements emblazoned on banners and posters hung throughout their schools. Parents considering a non-public educational alternative should be prepared to ask hard questions and go beyond the advertisements and informational literature.

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