Schools

The recent interest in schools has brought the differences between public and private schools into focus. Catholic schools have higher test scores, smaller class sizes and lower pay for teachers. Pay for catholic school teachers is only 65% of what public school teachers receive. Ten percent of students go to private schools but 21% of teachers children go to private schools. The only group that has a higher percentage is the children of members of congress. Test scores are better for all ethnic groups, attendance is higher, suspensions and expulsions are lower. Education is more important in the eyes of parents who send their children to private schools as witnessed by their willingness to pay higher tuition. Discipline problems in Catholic schools are much less frequent and handled swiftly with expulsions. It is no secret that if the parents are concerned about their children's education, if the class sizes are lower and if classroom discipline is maintained the children will perform better.