The US Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics has issued a report titled "Private Schools: A Brief Portrait." The document, which appears as a special section of the Department’s annual report to Congress titled "The Condition of Education 2002," features an analysis of the environment, climate, and student outcomes associated with private schools.

Among the report's highlights:

• There are approximately 27,000 private schools in the United States enrolling 5.3 million students in grades K-12 and employing 404,000 FTE-equivalent teachers.

• The average class size for self-contained classrooms is 18.9 students, compared to 20.9 students in public schools.

• The average student/teacher ratio is 13.2 to 1, compared to 15.6 to 1 in public schools.

• The average private school enrollment in 1999-2000 was 193 students, compared to 535 students in public schools.

• 80% of private schools have enrollments of less than 300 students, compared to 29% of public schools.

• Private school teachers are more likely than public school teachers to report having higher levels of influence on various teaching practices and school policies.

• Private school teachers are more likely than public school teachers to report being satisfied with teaching at their school.

• A majority of private school teachers express positive opinions about their principal and their school's management.

• Private school students generally perform higher than their public school counterparts on standardized achievement tests.

• Private high schools typically have more demanding graduation requirements than do public high schools.

• Private school students are twice as likely to complete a bachelor's or advanced degree by their mid-20's than public school students (52% versus 26%).

• Private school students in the lowest SES quartile (i.e. students from the poorest families) were more than 3 times as likely to complete a bachelor's degree by their mid-20's as their public school counterparts (24% versus 7%).