The Results of Private School Choice
By Brett King, Headmaster
As parents and supporters of RMCA, we participate in a schooling process that is historically American: private school choice. Prior to the 20th century, private schools dominated American K-12 schooling. Most schools were run and managed independent of government oversight and funding. By 1840, private schools in the northeast had produced a population with one of the highest literacy rates in the world. That could hardly be said about American students today, the bulk of whom are educated in government-run public schools.
Even though private school students currently account for only about 11% of total K-12 enrollment, they still clearly out-perform their government school counterparts. Private school students (82% of whom are educated in religious schools) graduate at higher rates. Their test scores in reading and math are higher. And they are four times more likely to be admitted into elite colleges and universities. Bottom line: the findings of studies in the US and abroad reinforce the positive effects of private schools.
This effect is obvious in the Bible Assessment and Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) results shown below. Not only do RMCA’s students score significantly higher than the national population, they even outperform other Christian schools in the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). It’s not my intention to boast about these scores, since we know test scores are only one measure of a good school. However, we are proud of them because of what they represent: the fruit of the hard work of parents, curriculum planners, teachers, and students.
Our aim for students is not just to perform well on tests or to get into the best universities. Our vision is much broader and far nobler. It is no less than to have students know and revere God, live a life of obedience to Jesus Christ, discern and defend a biblical worldview, learn continually, reason carefully, speak and write persuasively, thrive relationally, serve others gracefully, and work purposefully to the glory of God!
In January, RMCA parents will be asked to renew their commitment to educate their most precious commodity at RMCA for the next school year. It is my prayer that when making that decision, they will consider not just the positive effects of private schooling, but also the lasting benefits of a uniquely Christian and distinctively classical education for their children.
2007 Bible Assessment Scores
Bible Assessment scores are reported as the percentage of students in a grade level who scored proficient or above.
2007 SAT Complete Battery Scores
The SAT scores are reported as percentiles. A percentile indicates the relative standing of a student (or group) in comparison with other students in the same grade norm group who took the test at a comparable time.
