When many people discuss schools "good or bad", what are they talking about?

Do children really do better at private schools? How can I teach my kids to be financially responsible? When many people discuss schools "good or bad" what they’re talking about is their own belief systems, not real information gathered through research and experience. To wit, many of us believe, hands-down, that private schools are better than public schools. However, a recent study by the husband-and-wife team of Sarah Thuele Lubienski and Christopher Lubienski, researchers at the University of Illinois-Champaign, found that when they controlled for a family’s socioeconomic background, public-school kids slightly outperformed private-school kids. Using data from the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress, the researchers looked specifically at the scores on a federal math exam for 28,000 fourth-and eighth-graders. The reason for this, explains Christopher Lubienski, is because math is the one area that’s least likely to be influenced by other activities that supplement education. Math scores show in a more pure way the quality of instruction, says Lubienski. Of course, the researchers warn that this study says nothing about a specific school. But it is reassuring to know that overall public-school education should not necessarily be seen as second-rate compared to private schools.