A blow for charter schools and vouchers? Maybe not

A new study suggests there's really little difference in the academic performance of private and public schools. Very interesting. Then why are parents opting out of public schools and lining up for spots in charter schools. Maybe some parents know something that researchers don't

WASHINGTON, July 14 ? The Education Department reported on Friday that children in public schools generally performed as well or better in reading and mathematics than comparable children in private schools. The exception was in
eighth-grade reading, where the private school counterparts fared better.

The report, which compared fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math scores
in 2003 from nearly 7,000 public schools and more than 530 private schools, also
found that conservative Christian schools lagged significantly behind public schools on eighth-grade math.

The study, carrying the imprimatur of the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the Education Department, was contracted to the Educational Testing Service and delivered to the department last year.

It went through a lengthy peer review and includes an extended section of caveats about its limitations and calling such a comparison of public and private schools ?of modest utility.?

Well if the reports are of "modest utility" then why is the Times spinning the performance equity side of the report? Could it be because they favor the teachers unions? Here's more:

Arnold Goldstein of the National Center for Education Statistics said that the review was meticulous, but that it was not unusual for the center.

Mr. Goldstein said there was no political pressure to alter the findings.

Students in private schools typically score higher than those in public schools, a finding confirmed in the study. The report then dug deeper to compare students of like racial, economic and social backgrounds. When it did that, the private school advantage disappeared in all areas except eighth-grade reading.

One can argue that public and private schools do a comprable job in the early years and that for some undefined reason, private schools take off during the middle grades. I venture to say that parental involvement has much to do with the difference.

Related Full Report (pdf).