Facts & Factors is a leading market research organization that provides industry expertise and scrupulous consulting services to clients for their business development. The reports and services offered by Facts and Factors are used by prestigious academic institutions, start-ups and companies around the world to measure and understand the changing international and regional business background. The United States has an estimated 30,500 private schools with a total enrollment of about 5 million students. Of these, around 40% are affiliated with faith-based organizations. While most private schools are tax-exempt non-profit entities, some operate for profit. Contrary to popular belief, private schools are not just for the wealthy.
Historically, and even today, a substantial proportion of private schools serve low- and middle-income students. However, middle class enrollment in private education has been steadily declining since the 1960s. This is largely due to the fact that Catholic schools have seen a decrease in their proportion of all private schools. In 1992, Catholic schools accounted for almost 35% of all private schools in the country. On the other hand, non-religious private schools have seen an increase from 20% of the total number of private schools in 1992 to about 35% today. If you support a more pluralistic education system in which families have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of different educational options, you should want a strong private education sector in the United States. Currently, private elementary and secondary schools serve a total of approximately 4.9 million students, which is approximately one-tenth of the 50 million served by U.
S. public schools. That said, microschools can still offer valuable lessons that can be shared with other schools, or used as lower-risk models for pilot school programs that could eventually serve more students. There is a strong literature on the benefits of Catholic schools and a growing literature on the consequences of Catholic school closures for children and neighborhoods. As economic conditions are projected to continue to improve over the next five years, household income levels are expected to increase accordingly, making it easier for families to pay tuition for private schools.The private school industry comprises elementary (grades K) and secondary (grades 7 to 1) educational institutions that are predominantly funded through tuition fees and other private sources.
Competition between schools can help drive this, as can cooperation between networks of like-minded schools. While federal data do not allow an exact comparison with private schools by size, it is clear that there are quite marked differences between the two types of schools. Most public schools tend to serve larger student populations than their private counterparts. As Bellwether Education Partners recently published in their document on the state of private education in the United States, Catholic schools are typically the most affordable private schools in the nation. This document provides data on enrollment trends and costs, as well as deeper examinations of a few different models of private schools across the country. Demand for private education is driven by perceived inadequacies in the public school system, as well as by parents' desire for a specific curriculum or school culture. Working in private schools can also offer an entry point for companies trying to build a name for their products without having to go through long and difficult RFP-driven procurement processes that many public districts prefer.
