one of them is that private schools can cater (to some extent) being smaller and more flexible to different types of studetns with different needs and talents.
public schools, cannot be as nimble so to speak
an area that has one large public school could have 4 private schools that in total don't have as many students as the former
but each of those private schools can cater (to some extent) to different types of students.
Smaller does not necessarily mean more flexible. In fact, I would expect the reverse to be true. Larger schools have a bigger pool of students to draw from, which means they can offer many more programs to fit a bigger variety of situations. Even if you could make the argument that smaller niche schools are better for some reason, there's nothing stopping public school districts from establishing these types of schools. This is already being tried from within the framework of charter schools with mixed results.
not all private schools are for (example) the academic elite.
All private schools are allowed to screen their students. By elite, I mean they are free to either cherry pick only the best students or focus narrowly on a particular type of child.
my brother went to a school that specialized in dealing with, to a large extent, kids that didn't fit into the highly structured public school system but thrived more in an environment that was more open to self starters and kids who worked better when they weren't micromanaged.
private schools can also hire teachers that are phenomenally talented but don't have the credentials that public schools require
one of my teachers had a Phd, was totally brilliant, taught latin, etc. but didn't have a teaching certificate.
Private schools are not subject to regulation like public schools. If they are going to start tapping public funds for education, they should be required to conform to the same regulation. This is also inevitable. Once private schools start accepting public money, you can bet that the public is going to start to demand more say so in how those schools are run, which is as it should be.
i think there is a place for both private and public schools, but i say again, imo private schools on average are better.
CEP is a think tank, that essentially advocates for public schools.
i am sure we could both come up with links etc. that claim one or the other is better.
Nevertheless, the CEP is the foremost authority on the subject and the study was far more comprehensive than any done in the past, however if you like other studies that show private schools are better, go with them. They still only show marginal improvements. That's still a long way from showing that vouchers are a good idea.
one thing about private schools is that they ONLY survive if people CHOOSE to spend their money to send their kids there. since public schools are free, and often effectively people's ONLY choice the same does not apply to them.
Sure they have a choice. In fact they have more choices. They can appeal to their elected officials or they can move to another school district. If they can't afford to move to another school district, chances are they probably couldn't afford a private school even WITH a voucher, so they are still left with ONLY one choice anyway.
The argument is not whether private schools or public schools are better. The question is how can we improve education in America. Vouchers will either drain money from public schools, or they will create an additional funding liability. Draining money from the public schools would undoubtedly have a negative effect. If you went the other way, the additional funds spent on a voucher program would be better spent improving public schools.
The other question is, who are you going to help by creating a voucher program? Are you going to help the poorest students who need the help the most? Certainly not. Mostly you are just going to create a windfall for those who are going to send their kids to a private schools with or without a voucher. You might pick up a few extra kids whose parents would otherwise not be able to afford a private school, but chances are they are affluent enough to send their kids to good public schools anyway.
So even if you could make the argument that private schools are better, a voucher program just means more money for no improvement in the problem that vouchers are supposed to fix.