How much does it cost to send a child to public school? Most people would either say it’s free or that the only real cost comes from taxes. But there is another cost that is potentially higher than financial measure: It is opportunity cost.
What is the opportunity cost of public education? In economics, opportunity cost is the cost of foregoing an alternative choice. With regard to education, it is passing up the opportunities that a private education offers or, from another perspective, it is continuing the risks associated with the public school environment compared to the absence of such risks in most private school environments.
Looking Through the Window of Opportunity
Public schools are not inherently bad for children; they are simply natural byproducts of a one-size-fits-all educational experience with limited resources, which often results in a limited learning atmosphere. And this does not even mention the documented statistics of higher drop out rates and lower moral influence in public schools compared to private schools.
So, when thinking of the financial costs of sending your child to a private school, think also of the opportunity costs of public education–foregoing an alternative. Consider now as the time to carefully weigh the alternatives and look through the window of opportunity. There is no cost to look through this window; but there is a potential cost of not looking through it. To be certain your educational choice–public or private–is the right one, you’ll need knowledge–advantages and disadvantages–of both alternatives.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us about the positive results we’ve seen in our own students or take a look at what their parents are saying.
