The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released its latest annual report on U.S. education: The Condition of Education 2004. The report contains facts and figures detailing enrollment, student achievement, and other indicators of the state of American education.
Key findings relating to private education include the following:
- Between 1993 and 2003, the share of students attending private schools increased 0.9 percentage points for faith-based schools and 0.8 percentage points for other private schools. (p. 74)
- "Private school graduates were more likely than public school graduates to have completed advanced courses in science and mathematics." (p. 71)
- Private school sophomores have higher-than-average postsecondary expectations for themselves (p.137)
- Private school students score above average in reading (p. 120), writing (p. 124) and math (p. 128)
- "Private elementary and secondary school principals are more likely to report a high degree of influence over curriculum and performance standards than their public school counterparts." (p. 75)
Visit the NCES web site from which the complete report can be viewed or downloaded.
- Check the CAPSO website for soon-to-be-released private school enrollment data compiled from the California Department of Education's 2003-04 Private School Database.
