So we now know that tuition rates vary depending on the type of high school, but how prepared are students for college? If more money is required, then one can assume that the education is better. As of September of 2015, private schools exceeded the SAT National Benchmark by 99 points, while public schools scored 88 points below it. ACT scores show a similar trend, estimating that 75 percent of public school students meet the core standards for college readiness, as opposed to 81 percent in private schools.
So what does this tell us about this separation in school systems? It tells us that public schools are not meeting the cut. They are sending their students ill prepared to colleges and universities without the proper tools to succeed. Public schools are merely skimming through the surface of the education material required upon graduation, granting their students a great disadvantage in their future. Although both private and public school students have a high school degree, the level of knowledge differs immensely. With private schools overachieving the national demand while the other fails to attain it, one student is prioritized over another. So in concurrence to my last post, the level of college readiness is directly impacted due to the inability of a student to afford the proper tools needed to survive through college.
The statistics mentioned above support that there is something about private high schools that lead us to believe that there is a major underlying reason as to why they have such a high success rate. Could it be due to the usage of a different curriculum?
What do you think! Comment below and let us know!
Girl Four
5girls4education 
Dear Girl # 4,
Great post and a very interesting subject indeed! As a former private high schooler myself, I absolutely see a difference in the public and private curriculum and the degree of effort that is typically invested in each. I was unaware, however, that the statistics are so spread out between the two. While I agree that most private school students are slightly more prepared for college, I also believe it is still up to each student independent of where they attended high school. I say this from a first-hand perspective. When I graduated high school, I attempted to go the “standard route” of jumping into the college life…..and it was not for me at the time. I was not as prepared as I thought I was, regardless that I graduated from a great private school. It was up to me to make that leap and succeed. On the other hand, I do believe students are off to a better start when they had a well-invested high school education.
It is sad to think that families, among all the other expenses in life- have to pay for a “better” education for their children when they should be receiving a high quality high school education at no additional cost. Each state needs to look into the way in which the curriculum is organized and executed to ensure the students are just as prepared as private high schoolers.
This was a great post to read! Thanks for sharing! Maybe you can find information on how the curriculum is created and who checks on the programs to make sure the teachers are sticking to them for next week? I know in private schools, the Deans ensure the curriculum is being followed- which may be one of the reasons for the big gap in statistical data. I look forward to reading your future posts.
– Girl # 3
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Thanks for sharing your own personal experience! Unfortunately, our society has created a template for all students to follow and has shaped them into believing that it is a one way road. While it works for some people, others are deprived of their true potential. Although I do agree with what you said about it being up to the student themselves to build their own college readiness regardless of the institution they pertain to, I do not believe that this should be enough of a reason for such a great gap in quality. There will always be exceptions; those who attended a public school yet cared enough to exceed in their educational careers, and those who attended private schools yet failed to pull through. However, to me, these cases are outliers. I believe it is more important for everyone to have the same opportunity to gain the same quality of learning. Whether they choose to use it or throw it away, is up to them. But due to this huge differences, the lower classes are being deprived of their right. Like you said, it is very sad.
The ideas you mentioned at the end are great! I honestly have no idea who checks the curriculums or what they look for exactly. I’ll have to look into it! Thanks again for commenting!
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I am so glad you brought up this issue. I know this couldn’t be truer in my case. I went to a public high school and went into college extremely ill prepared. I lacked the proper test taking skills, study habits, and just the overall preparedness a freshman college student should acquire while in high school. My high school inflated our grades making us believe we were smarter than we actually were just to boost the school’s status. Final examinations were not mandatory if you maintained a decent grade and low absences. SAT and ACT prep classes were cut because they were not “financially obtainable”, yet the school spends $27,000 a year on drug testing. Maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t seem right. Coming into college last year I had to teach myself how to properly prepare for exams because I never had to take finals for my classes, I was always exempt. I believe this also put me at a disadvantage for taking AP exams and other standardized tests. My school did not emphasis the importance of studying enough, but rather prided itself on its graduation rate, “excellence”, and of course athletics. I really enjoy your posts! You’ve brought up some great issues that deserve more attention than they receive.
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This is exactly why this is such a big issue that was been overlooked! I was in the same boat you were in when I was in my public high school. Due to the fact that we were blind to the kind of education private school students were receiving, we were fooled into believing that our current institution was fairly decent and that the education it provided was actually “good.” Little did we know that college would hit us hard. I had no idea I was so unprepared, and I too had to teach myself how to study and take tests. It is really unfair.
I love the fact that you mentioned $27,000 that go to drug testing because that only strengthens the point that education is not a priority. I agree with you, that’s just not right.
I really enjoyed reading your comment. It was great support for my blog! Thanks for the feedback.
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