When you have a child that is approaching school age, you may find yourself in a bit of a conundrum. You want to make sure that they get the best education possible, but you may not know which type of school can provide your child with that superior education. Currently, in the United States, there are three primary categories of schools available to children. Those are public schools, private schools, and charter schools. In order to ensure that your child gets the education that you want them to, get to know some of the primary differences between these three educational options. Then, you can be sure that your child is getting the best education possible based on your standards.

Cost Differences

One of the biggest differences between these three school options is the cost to you, the parent, to have your child in school. Public schools and charter schools do not have tuition costs for attendance. Private schools, on the other hand, do cost money for attendance.

However, it is important to note that the listed price for private school tuition is not always what you will have to pay for your child to attend if they are accepted. Many private schools offer scholarships and grants, as well as tuition payment plans to help families that may not be especially wealthy to put a child through private school.

Additionally, while charter schools are technically free, they do generate a great deal of their funding from private sources and fundraisers. Families with children who attend a charter school are often encouraged to donate money themselves and/or participate in efforts to raise funds. This is an indirect cost to consider when you think about charter schools.

Admissions Requirements

There are also major differences between these three types of school environments in terms of admissions to those educational institutions and the diversity of the school population. In private schools, the admissions process may be quite stringent and rigorous. Depending on the type of private school, they may have very high academic standards, requiring minimum IQ and other tests scores, grades, recommendations, and an interview process to find ideal candidates. This can be tough on a child and may be the wrong choice for your child depending on their academic abilities and goals.

Public schools, on the other hand, are open to all children and cannot require minimum test scores for admission. Instead, many public schools base their "admissions" decisions on the areas in which children live. They have a primary area from which any child can attend. Outside of that area, families can put in a request to transfer to that school, which will be accepted or denied based only on whether or not the school's enrollment is already at capacity as well as any wait list there may be. 

Charter schools, are essentially a combination of the two types of schools. They do have stricter admissions requirements than public schools and will require an application process much like a private school. Some charter schools are based on specific areas of expertise, though, including the arts, sciences, languages, and the like. This makes them more accessible to a wide array of children with different skills and areas of interest. These are specialized schools, for the most part, that set high standards and have different admissions procedures based on their areas of focus.

Now that you know a bit more about these three different types of schools, you can better assess the situation and determine which type of school is right for your child.