Academics: Public Schools Beat Private

One of the axioms accepted by supporters of school vouchers is that competition between schools is healthy and will lead to the improvement or disappearance of inferior schools.

There already is academic competition in which both public and private schools participate that can be used to precisely measure and directly compare a school’s merits. It is the Academic Decathlon. And the results could not be more clear: Public schools, even those designated as the worst of the worst, outscore even the most elite private schools.

The Academic Decathlon is a competition in which students must master 10 disciplines at a college level. Nationwide, thousands of schools of all sizes participate, both public and private. A truncated summary of the curriculum that this year’s students were required to learn includes: fundamentals of art, art history including sculpture, pottery, Baroque art, Romanticism, Impressionist art, Cubism and post-World War II art movements; music fundamentals, 20th century musical composition, including familiarity with 18 specific composers, their styles and genres, and identification of major works; the novel “Jane Eyre,” various works of poetry from the 16th through the 20th centuries; mathematics from algebra through calculus; nuclear chemistry; particle physics; kinematics and dynamics of moving bodies; the political and cultural history of the 1980s; interpretive essay writing; prepared public speaking; impromptu public speaking; interview skills and a thorough understanding of the global economy, including NAFTA, multinational corporations, the Asian “tigers,” protectionism versus free trade and many other relevant issues.

This year’s L.A. Unified School District winner was El Camino Real High School, which will be favored to win the national championship next month.

Maybe, you say, El Camino shouldn’t count; after all, a West Valley public school is sort of like a private school, isn’t it? Well in second place was Garfield High School in East L.A., one of the “100 worst” schools in Los Angeles.

Amazing what a dedicated teacher and motivated students can do. Think Garfield was a fluke? In third place was Belmont High School; yes, overcrowded, immigrant-tainted Belmont (also one of the “100 worst”) will be competing for the state championship. And lagging in fourth place (out of 59 schools) was Marshall High School, where 72% of the students are from family’s with incomes below the national poverty level.

With adequate coaching, Marshall might have done even better, as in 1995, when the school won the national championship.

Despite great effort and widespread publicity, no private school has been able to duplicate these results.

So it is obvious we should institute school vouchers. Then those fortunate recipients could make wise choices, sending their offspring to institutions that will challenge them and give them a real chance for future success.

Don’t leave them trapped in those private schools that just can’t compete. Your child’s future is too important. Bring them back to Garfield or Belmont or Marshall--or even El Camino Real. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.