Every year there are a large number of American parents that must face an incredibly difficult decision. For some, this decision is quite easy because they will simply send their children to either the high school they attended or whatever is the best recommended public school in the area. However, other parents will have to decide between sending their children to public high schools or private high schools.

There is no question that there is a clear distinction between the type of culture and experience public high schools provide and private high schools provide. Understand that on average, most private schools are small and just about 86% of all private high schools contain less than 300 students. If you need to choose between public and private high schools, here are some important facts that you should know.

In the United States, there are currently 30,861 private schools that enroll around 5.3 million students. This means that private schools comprise about 24% of the nation’s schools and also enroll just about 10% of all the students within the United States. When compared to public schools in large cities, private schools have nearly 1.5 times the enrollment size of said public schools.

On average, most private high schools are going to be nearly less than half the size of public schools. In the year of 2007, 91% of all parents surveyed stated that the dedication of the teachers was one of the main reasons as to why they decided to send their child to a private school. in that same study, just about 72% of all parents also stated that they believe the private school their child attends is very safe.

Between the years of 2011 and 2013, nearly 4,428,000 children ages three and four attended preschool. This is essential and important because many of these students that attend preschool will do better than the students that did not attend preschool. This is because preschool allows younger students to begin developing important skills at a younger age than the other children that do not attend preschool.

80% of all parents that have enrolled their children in a religious private school stated that they are very satisfied with their school of choice for a number of different reasons. The NCES released data revealing that 88% of all private high school students will apply to college, compared 57% of public high school students that apply to college.

The percentage of private high school seniors that graduate is just around 98% which is astonishing. Also know that out of the 305,842 private high school graduates that graduated in 2011, just about 64% attended a 4-year college by the fall season of the following year.

Some private high schools are co-ed whereas some only enroll members of the same sex. Just about 96% of all private high schools are coeducational whereas 2% will only roll girls and boys. Understand that because these private high schools have classes that are smaller, it will allow teachers to better focus on their students. As a matter of fact, 12.5 students for each teacher is the ratio of a private school whereas a public school has a ratio of 15.4 students for each teacher.

In Conclusion

Public high schools and private high schools will, without question, give your child vasty different experiences Whether or not those experiences are good or bad when compared to one another is mostly up to you and what you want for your child. While public schools will feature a diverse cast of students, private high schools will for the most part feature people who are affluent and have the proper amount of money to send their child to a private high school. Make sure you understand all of the facts that separate these two types of schools so that way you can make the best decision for your child’s future.