College Success of Students from Three High School Settings.

Abstract

Widely publicized reports have documented problems in our public schools since the mid-1980s. But profound issues also plague private and home schools. Taken collectively, the problems that persist in our nation's schools, particularly high schools, raise questions about the quality of education and the effects these shortcomings are having on our nation's students and their future success. While many students enter the work force or the armed forces after graduation from high school, a large number go on to college. This study focused on investigating the undergraduate success of a sample of college graduates from three high school settings: home school (n = 21); private school (n = 26); and public school (n = 17). Subjects represented all four major regions of the United States and several foreign countries. Data included 40 indicators of college success reflecting five domains of learning outcome: achievement, leadership, professional aptitude, social behavior, and physical activity. There were no significant differences among the three groups in 33 of the 40 variables. However, results from multivariate analysis of variance showed college graduates from home schools held significantly more leadership posts for significantly greater periods of time than did the private school group. The public school group remained unaffected.