Full Citation

Title: Private schooling in the US: Expenditures, supply, and policy implications

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2009

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI:

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: This report provides a first-of-its-kind descriptive summary of private school expenditures. It includes comparisons of expenditures among different types and affiliations of private schools, and it also compares those expenditures with publicschool expenditures for districts in the same state and labor market. Results indicate that (1) the less-regulated private school sector is more varied in many key features (teacher attributes, pay and school expenditures) than the morehighly regulated public schooling sector; (2) these private school variations align and are largely explained by affiliationprimarily religious affiliationalone;and (3) a ranking of school sectors by average spending correlates well with a ranking of those sectors by average standardized test scores. Public schools spend, in dollars adjusted for both region and inflation, more thanChristian Association Schools (CAS) and Catholic schools, but less than Hebrew or independent day schools: nearly $15,000 per pupil for independent schools, over $12,000 for Hebrew schools, $7,743 for Catholic schools, and approximately$5,727 for CAS. For public schools, the comparable average spending figure was $8,402. These spending variations were associated with not just test scores; they also reflected differences in salaries, pupil-to-teacher ratios and teacher undergraduate preparation. The variations also have clear implications for voucher programs, since current voucher policies are funded at amounts that cover costs at only aselect subset of private schools. They essentially push students into Christian Association and Catholic schools, pricing out independent (non-religious) schools and Hebrew schools. The report is based largely on annual IRS filings as reported in Guidestara national database and information service on non-profit organizations. Schools included in the analysis serve nearly 33% of all children attending ChristianAssociation Schools in the 24 states studied, and 75% of children attending independent day schools in those states. Total per-pupil spending was compared with total per-pupil spending for public school districts in the same labor marketand same city, with an adjustment for regional variation in wages. The analyses focused on approximately 1,500 private schools, examining IRS tax returns as well as data from the 2003-04 National Center for Education Statisticshttp://epicpolicy.org/publication/private-schooling-us Page 2 of 51 School and Staffing Survey, which allowed for analyses of private schools salary structure, teacher attributes, class sizes and tuition rates by affiliation and region. Specific factors include teacher age, teacher undergraduate institution competitiveness, teacher salary, pupil to teacher ratio, tuition rates, location and institutional affiliation.

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Baker, Bruce D.

Publisher: Rutgers University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education

Countries: United States